Normal
by Kalenath Shok-Tan
Summary: Who doesn't want a normal life? Then again... What is 'normal? For one, it may be one thing. For another, something different. And then add other things into the mix. Espionage, religious fanatics, technological wonders or horrors, and then... the Tenno. It WILL get messy. This is a fanfiction. I own none of the rights to Warframe.
1. Chapter 1

**Situation Unknown**

Everything was metallic shades of bluish gray. The human woman lay on her back on something that gave slightly underneath her. The lights overhead were bright, but not harsh. She could see a gray ceiling and gray walls. She could hear machinery around her, machinery that her brain catalogued as medical in nature. She looked down at herself and she wore a gray garment of some kind. It fit her like a second skin. She looked around further but her head spun and she lay back with a sigh.

"Patient A-73?" A melodious voice asked. "Are you well?"

"What?" She asked, confused. "Who are you?"

"I am the nurse in charge of the patients on this floor." The voice said quietly. "Are you all right? You seem confused."

"I don't know." The human woman said softly. "Where am I?"

"You don't remember what happened?" The voice asked, concerned.

"No." The woman said, her pulse starting to pound. "Last thing I remember was going to a job interview, then It all goes black. Where am I?"

"Be cam, Ma'am. You are in a medical facility at the Niaid colony in the Neptune sector." The voice said gently. "Do you remember being brought in?"

"No." The human woman said, fear starting to surface. "What happened?"

"We don't know." The voice said quietly. "You were found, injured, aboard a derelict transport ship. The survival pod you were in had malfunctioned." The woman in the bed went stiff. "Be at ease, Ma'am. You are okay." The voice said gently.

"Pod?" She asked, dazed. "Ship? I was at the Jupiter colony, Holis habitat. I was asked to study some tech that had been uncovered. It sounded intriguing so I went. But..." She shook her head, the memories refused to come. "I can't remember!" She exclaimed, looking about wildly. A sign on the wall caught her attention. Did she know the language? Something clicked and she relaxed, her focus ebbing.

"You were injured." The voice of the nurse said gently. "From the mechanism of injury, you struck your head at least once. We have done what we can."

"So..." She shook her head, aware now of something covering it. It felt like bandages. "What will happen to me?"

"For now, rest." The voice urged her. "We will talk some more when you feel up to it." She felt lethargy seeping through her and was swiftly drifting. "Do you remember your name?"

"Mari." The woman slurred. "My name is Mari..."

"Well, my name is Gina, Mari." The nurse said gently. "Sleep now. Rest. When you wake, we can start your rehabilitation."

Mari laid her head back against the pillow of the bed and closed her eyes. But then something happened and she couldn't open them again. Fear came, but then something washed over her and it vanished. All emotion did. She felt something click around her head.

"Report." A cold male voice sounded from somewhere nearby.

"Physical trauma repaired." The voice of the nurse -if she was one- was calm and concise. "Partial amnesia, possibly caused by cryo stasis. Level one Indoctrination complete."

"We need her operational, tech Gina." The other voice said with a snap. "When?"

"Sir." The nurse said diffidently. "I am ordered to bypass the standard breaking procedures. I must formally protest. The procedures are clear and proven."

"Go ahead and protest." The cold male voice snapped. "We need her _now_. We took an awful risk snatching her en route to that university. But the reward is worth it. Her scores in robotics design were off the charts."

"You asked for my professional expertise, sir."The voice of the nurse sharpened. "It won't work."

"Explain." The male voice was colder now.

"We don't know enough about her to make a story that will hold up to even passing scrutiny. Even with the drugs, she is noticing inconsistencies. I can keep her calm and disinterested, but no more than that. We don't know where she has been, or what she was doing." The nurse said with a matching snap. "All we know is that the habitat that she claims to be from was destroyed hundreds of years ago. During the Collapse."

"And?" The male voice pressed.

"She has odd neural scarring." The tech said after a moment. "Her injuries are inconsistent with the damage that the pod she was in suffered. It must be a set up of some kind, sir."

"And that is why you are a tech and not a executive."The male voice said with a cold laugh. "Of _course_ it is a set up. The question is by who and for what."

"She doesn't know." The tech replied. "Her memories end after a certain period. Wiped clean."

"How?" The man asked, concerned.

"Unknown." The tech replied a bit uneasily. "It's not any brainwashing technique that we have on file. Her memories are simply gone. As if someone reached into her head and pulled them out. That is not possible." She paused. "Is it?"

"Not that I know of." The executive said slowly.

"There is no chemical residue." The tech said after a moment. "No sign of energy trauma. The memory clusters are just gone."

"I don't like mysteries, tech Gina." The executive said with a scowl in his voice. Then he sighed. "Can you break her without impairing her cognitive function?"

"Yes sir." The tech replied with confidence.

"Do so." The executive snapped.

"Well..." The voice of Gina was a little sad now. "Sorry Mari A-73. I tried to do it the gentle way. Don't struggle, girl."

Cold mechanical hands touched Mari now. She felt her clothing coming off, but couldn't muster the energy to protest, let alone fight. Cold things suddenly touched her and she shivered.

"Such beautiful hair..." Gina said with a sigh as clippers started to buzz. "What a waste, but long hair under a helmet doesn't work." Mari felt cold metal against her scalp and then tugging as a buzzing sounded. "There..." The tech said quietly. "All done with the preparation. Computer, begin phase two."

Something cold encircled Mari's scalp and she felt a tingling. Mari felt things cover her ears. Suddenly a drone of soft sound was pouring into them. It sounded like words, but they were too soft for her to make out.

"Subliminal online." The tech said quietly. "Visual..." Mari's eyes opened without her command and she had a moment to see a screen in front of them before a bright light played into her eyes. It hurt for a moment and the tech made a clucking noise. "There we go, corrected for depth of vision..." She crooned.

The light changed and Mari found herself seeing pictures. A man in an unfamiliar uniform stood in front of her, but he was a hologram. He opened his mouth and the noise in her ears abated for a moment. The word 'Obey' appeared in her eyes.

"You are now property of the Corpus." The holographic man said calmly. "Your old life has ended. You live to serve." Mari tried to fight, tried to protest, but a sting in her arm had her floating. "You will serve. You will obey. You are Corpus. You are property of the Corpus."

"That's it, Mari..." The tech crooned to her. "Just relax and let the programming take hold." Programming? Mari jerked a little and the tech sighed. "Okay, the hard way."

Something took hold of Mari's face and she gagged as a tube forced its way down her throat. Then she gasped as objects went into other sensitive places. Nothing hurt, but it was all uncomfortable.

"You are no longer in control of any aspect of your life." The recording droned on, the holographic man in her eyes and the sound in her ears in perfect synch. "We now control everything. You prefer that. You want to be controlled. You want to serve. You want to obey."

Mari tried to shake her head, to scream. But nothing worked. Everything was fading. She was fading. Then it all went away. She floated in darkness that murmured to her. The darkness was interspersed by flashes of oddly soothing light. She hung there in limbo for a time that she had no way of measuring. It might have been minutes, or centuries.

Without warning, everything changed. She came back to herself with a click. Mari found herself lying on a bed in a Corpus medical facility. She was wearing a standard jumpsuit. It's brown colors soothed her. She preferred to be controlled. She felt better when she obeyed.

"Mari A-73?" A familiar voice asked. Mari turned her head to see a med tech scrutinizing her. "Are you cognizant?"

"This one is aware." Mari said in a monotone. "Orders...?" She didn't feel anything.

"Oh, _that_ will never do." The tech said with a sigh. "Robotic voices are for robots... Hold on..." The tech said as she worked controls. "Try now."

"Try what?" Mari asked as she felt...something change. She felt curiosity and worry peak. "I don't understand. Is there a problem, med tech?"

"No." The tech said gently as she rose and walked to Mari's bedside. "No problem at all. Just some emotive tweaks. Your Indoctrination is complete." Mari sat up and the tech took her arms as Mari weaved a bit. "Take it easy, Mari A-73." She said quickly. "You have been unconscious for two days while we worked on you."

"Two days?" Mari asked apprehensively. "Was there a problem?"

"No." The med tech reassured her. "We wanted to make it gentle, keep the cognitive patterns intact. That was what drew us to you, your brains. We need you in our R&D division as soon as possible."

"I am ready to serve." Mari said quietly, checking her jumpsuit's readouts. "I live to serve."

"Good." The tech replied. "Your implants are all in place. You will be able to access your workload and training materials via neural link. One thing..." She raised a cautionary hand as Mari swung her legs off the bed. Mari paused and the tech continued. "The excretory bypass is...not optimal. Your body will not accept the newer systems. Our programming for the shunts wasn't quite right. Where most of our personnel don't have to use the toilet, you will until we can determine a workaround. That will be a few days until the surgery teams have time for you."

"Yuck." Mari said slowly. "But that will take time away from work." She said, worry dawning. "That _is_ suboptimal, med tech." Most Corpus had waste modules that they replaced regularly. Far more efficient than having to go and relieve oneself in the middle of a work shift.

"I know." The tech said sadly. "But it was the best we could do with the differences in your body. The Indoctrination systems are not set up to do anything different and would cause long term harm if we tried. We will get it fixed, but it will require actual hands on surgery, not automated. Your superiors have been notified. They understand your limitations."

"This isn't right, med tech." Mari protested. "I live to serve and if I can't, then-" She froze in mid sentence as the tech hit a control.

"Easy, Mari..."T he med tech crooned. "What _is_ this odd mental jump?" She was scrutinizing her readouts. "Hmmm.." She mused. "I haven't seen that kind of jump before. Your alpha and theta waves are all over the place. Were you controlled before?" She asked, rhetorically. "No matter. We will keep you healthy, happy and whole. You are part of us now, part of the Corpus." She hit the control again.

"-then I need repairs." Mari continued from where she had been speaking and paused. "Did I just lose a minute of time?" She asked, worried as she checked her implant time keeper.

"I took you offline for minute and thirteen seconds. You had an odd mental episode. Nothing abnormal detected." The tech reassured her as Mari winced. "We will monitor you closely, Mari A-73."

"Understood." Mari replied evenly. "Orders?"

"You are to report to R&D." The tech said quietly. "I am to take you."

"I am ready to serve." Mari said quietly as she rose to her feet. She stood easily. The tech smiled and nodded before waving for Mari to follow.

The med tech led Mari through the corridors of what looked to Mari's inexpert eye as a standard Corpus facility. They passed a multitude of Corpus personnel doing the various jobs that were required to keep the ancient and often obstinate. They also passed several robotic proxies that Mari examined with dispassion. She could see various flaws in the designs just from looking at the two legged proxies. The med tech smiled at her.

"Ready to go to work?" The tech asked as she led Mari towards a door guarded by two Crewmen with laser rifles.

"Yes." Mari replied.

"ID." The higher ranked crewman said dispassionately. Mari paused. She hadn't been issue done, had she? The guard lowered their rifles into firing position when she didn't immediately comply.

"This is Mari A-73. She just finished her indoctrination. Executive Seim is waiting for this new recruit." The tech said quietly. "He said you would have an ID for her." The guard who had spoken looked at her and then nodded slowly.

"Remain still." He said to both of them. The guard that had spoken lowered his rifle and produced a scanner. The other's rifle did not leave Mari. He scanned her quickly and efficiently only to pause as his scanner beeped. "What is...this?" He asked the med tech.

"Her..." The tech had the grace to look embarrassed. "Ah, yes. I made a full report. Her excretory bypass is not fully functional. Until we can set up for a full surgery, she will need a toilet facility. The backlog of non-critical cases in medical means she will be a few days at best. At worst, a week."

"The only toilet facility available in R&D is in disuse, med tech. It hasn't been used in some time." The guard said with a shake of his head. "I do not know if it will be satisfactory."

"As long as I can remove wastes, it will be satisfactory, guard." Mari said quietly. "I live to serve."

"We live to serve." The tech and both guards chorused in reply. The tech looked at the guard and he nodded.

"Remain still." He commanded as his compatriot raised his rifle from firing position.

He slung his rifle and then reached out for Mari, a gleaming object in hand. She did not react as he clamped the device around her left forearm. A stabbing pain tore through her but she did not flinch as the genetic ID was fused to both of her bones. As soon as he retracted the device, she held out her arm to be scanned. He nodded to her as he scanned it.

"Welcome home, Mari A-73." The guard said formally. She bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Obey all instructions from security personnel."

"I will obey." Mari said quietly. Both guard raised their rifles in salute and stepped aside to let the two females pass.

"I am going to add to that." The med tech said calmly as the doors built in scanners swept over them. "I want you be on guard. You had some...anomalies. We will need to schedule more comprehensive scans for a later date."

"Anomalies, med tech?" Mari asked.

"For lack of a better term, yes." The med tech replied. "We don't know what caused them, or why they happened. You are needed, so we will use you." Mari felt a surge of pleasure at that. She belonged. "If anything odd happens, report it immediately to your supervisor."

"Yes, med tech." Mari said quietly as she followed the other woman into a brightly lit area. They both froze as a scream sounded.

"Shut it down!" A voice called from nearby as a violet hulled proxy ran towards the door. It was about to slam into Mari when it suddenly froze in midstep and collapsed in a shower of sparks.

"Help me..." A soft, scared voice begged. It sounded young. It was coming from the MOA! Then it jerked and was silent.

"Damn it all!" An armored figure appeared nearby, "Not again! Of all the..." He paused, seeing the med tech and Mari looking at him. "Ah, our new design specialist?" The med tech nodded but Mari was examining the MOA.

"This is Mari A-73, she is..." The tech broke off. "Mari?" She asked as Mari bent down by the MOA.

"I heard crackling from inside the housing. I think the actuator assemblies are shorting." Mari said slowly. "This is...suboptimal..." She said examining the MOA closely.

"That is one way to put it." The armored form said sourly. "I am Foreman Kilis."

"Oh!" Mari jerked back to her feet and stood at attention. This was her boss! "My apologies, Foreman." She looked back at the MOA. "This is not a standard design."

"No, it is not." The foreman agreed, his tone grudging. "We are trying to redo a lot of research that was lost. Unfortunately, we lost so much that we had to start from scratch." Mari winced and he nodded. "Well?" He indicated the MOA. Mari took that as permission to examine it closer.

"Without opening it up to see what was shorting..." Mari mused as she touched the hull. A spark shot from it and she jerked as a voice sounded inside her head.

_Good girl, you are in, Mari. Stay safe and stay quiet._

"Ow." Mari complained as she jerked back. "Definitely a short somewhere. Probably more than one." She said as she touched the hull again and this time nothing happened. "I will need to look inside to find out where." She looked up at the foreman who nodded slowly.

"We will need to fit you for proper protection." The foreman said, his tone respectful now. "We are having problems with shorts. They tend to corrupt the command protocols."

"Ouch." Mari said with feeling. "Are any of these armed?" She asked, looking around the room. No, it was a huge bay. She saw other figures in armored suits working on various MOA forms.

"No." The foreman said with a shudder that Mari matched. "Thank goodness."

"Let me see your hand, Mari A-73." The med tech commanded. Mari held out her hand and the med tech sprayed a gel over it that immediately dulled the pain that Mari had been ignoring. The med tech sighed and turned to the supervisor. "Don't let her ignore herself. She will need the toilet every so often. If I have to come back, I will have to report to the executive."

"If she can hear shorts from that distance and figure out the problem that quickly..." The foreman said with feeling. "Then no, we won't lose this one."

"Good." The med tech said with a smile. "Mari A-73?" Mari looked at her and the med tech laid a hand on her shoulder. "Stay safe. Work well."

"I live to serve." Mari said evenly as she rose. "I serve the Corpus."

"We live to serve." The others chorused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Work**

Mari was having fun. She didn't remember everything that had happened to her, but this was something she enjoyed. Taking machinery apart to see what made it work, then making it work better. She was bent over the hull of a brown hulled MOA when the foreman Kilis' voice sounded.

"Mari A-73." Mari nodded, but her focus remained on the polymer bundle that she knew was the problem in this particular machine. If she could just get at it... "Mari A-73, step away from the MOA." The foreman said, slightly exasperated. Mari jerked and stepped back as ordered.

"I beg pardon, Foreman Kilis." Mari said calmly. "But I nearly have this fixed. The secondary CPU was defective and was shorting out sections 3-A to 3-L of the muscle polymer bundles."

"You are a space hamster on stims, girl." The foreman said, shaking his head. "How long have you been working on that?" He demanded.

"Forty seven minutes, eighteen seconds, sir." Mari said, not comprehending. "Was my work unsatisfactory?"

"Your work is quite satisfactory." The foreman said with a nod. "But you are pushing yourself too hard. I was ordered to keep you from ignoring your needs."

"My...needs...foreman?" Mari asked, nonplussed. "I don't understand."

"Mari A-73, you need rest, nourishment and to relieve your waste systems." The foreman said sternly. Mari jerked and then stared down at herself. She gulped. She had... He nodded, his boxy helmet jerking."Yes, your suit's systems reported the mess."

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I didn't feel anything, Foreman. I..."

"Mari A-73, be calm." The foreman said gently. "Go clean yourself up. Then get something to eat and drink." Mari started to protest and he snapped. "That is an order."

"Yes, foreman." Mari said dejectedly. "I didn't feel it..." She said sadly. "Should I report to medical?" She asked, concerned.

"Toilet facility is marked on your HUD. Clean up first, eat and drink, then talk to the nurse here in the bay. She can see if it needs to be pushed up the chain" The foreman said with shake of his head. "We do need you. But if you do not take care of yourself, then we _will_." Threat sounded in his tone, but it was worry that predominated.

"Yes, Foreman." Mari set the diagnostic station to standby and closed up the MOA that she had been working on. She paused as the foreman stepped close and laid a hand on her armored forearm.

"_Now,_ Mari A-73."The foreman snarled. "_Go._" Mari nodded and left the station even though every instinct was telling her to finish her work. Behind her, she heard the man sigh "Space hamster on stims indeed..."

She didn't understand the comment, but she didn't want him any angrier than he was. She found the toilet facility and cleaned herself quickly and efficiently. She shook her head. All the high tech that went into the armored vac suits that all of the techs wore and she was unable to use some of it for some weird physiological reason. She used the facilities quickly and stepped out of the room quickly. As the guard had warned her, it hadn't been used -or cleaned- in some time. She would probably do it herself if given the time and materials. She strode to the small mess hall that served the techs and procured a meal for herself as well as a restorative drink. Then she sat at an open space. None of the others seemed willing to converse and she accepted that. Her mind was whirling with schematics, designs, plans and thoughts for improvements to all of the above. She finished her meal quickly and efficiently and put her tray up to be recycled. Then she paused. That felt... right but...not. She stared at the recycler for a moment and then shrugged minutely and went to find the duty nurse.

She found the medial practitioner filling out paperwork for the tech who had been injured when the violet MOA had rampaged and waited for the woman to look up.

"Yes?" The nurse asked in a tired voice.

"I am Mari A-73." Mari said quietly but clearly. "I am experiencing...distress with my excretory system."

"Distress?" The nurse asked and then her eyes widened. "Oh, yes. Tech Gina messaged me about your problem. What happened?"

"I...lost control." Mari admitted sheepishly. "I never felt it." The woman's face became sympathetic.

"It's okay, Mari A-73." The nurse said gently. "These things can happen with new recruits. Your body has changed and it likely hasn't settled down yet. Let's see what I can do to help." She waved Mari to a chair nearby and Mari sat gingerly. "It's not going to bite you, girl." The nurse said with a laugh.

"I am just afraid I am going to make another mess." Mari admitted. "I wish they had managed to get the waste modules to work for me."

"They will get to it when they can. And if you _do_ make a mess? I can handle it here." The nurse said with a nod. "Let's see..." She started a series of scans and watched the readouts. "My name is Ginger L-89 by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Ginger L-89." Mari said without moving as scanner energy played along her lower body. "You are the medic for the bay?"

"Yep." Ginger replied. "For my sins and because I took courses in industrial medicine, they made me the bay's medic and safety officer." She said sourly.

"Rough job?" Mari asked softly, still not moving.

"It has it's rough moments." Ginger admitted. "High energy plus less than proper safety protocols and...well..." She nodded as Mari winced. "Yes, it can get messy." Then she shook her head and blew out a breath. "Well... I don't see anything wrong."

"There has to be _something_." Mari said, her tone nearly begging. "_Some_ reason for it."

"I don't find anything wrong, Mari A-73." Ginger said with a sigh. "But just out of curiosity, how focused were you on your work?" Mari froze and the nurse sighed. "I see."

"I _always_ follow all pertinent safety protocols." Mari said with a gulp. "As you say, high energy."

"That is good." The nurse said with a nod. "But... If you get wrapped up in your work and forget to take care of yourself, bad things will happen." She shook her head.

"I didn't feel anything off." Mari protested. "That can't be normal. I would have felt something, anything."

"Well, there is nothing the scanners can detect." Ginger said with a sigh. "They are not perfect, but they are pretty good." Mari slumped in her chair and Ginger smiled at her, "Well, if we can't go for a high tech solution, how about a low tech one?"

"A low tech solution?" Mari asked slowly.

"Yeah."' The nurse opened a drawer and started pulling out items, some she placed back in and others she set on her desk. "If you can't tell when you need to go, or have gone, then you can and will sit in your filth and we can't have that."

"Stinky." Mari agreed. "So... What?" The nurse held up a package so that Mari could read the label and the woman in the chair went stiff. "You have _got_ to be kidding..."

"Hey, they work." Ginger said as she tore the package open. "It will interface with your HUD so as to tell you if there is a mess for you to clean up."

"I can't wear that!" Mari protested.

"Mari A-73..." Ginger said calmly as she held up the diaper. "It's this or a set of catheters. This will be _far_ more comfortable." Mari stared at the nurse and shivered before nodding and opening her armored jumpsuit. The nurse was quick and professional.

"Fine." Mari said with a wince when Ginger was done. "Whatever. Can I go back to work?"

"Let me get you a package of them." Ginger said with a nod. "Actually... You have a locker assigned, don't you? I will have them delivered there."

"I have never used it, but yes. What are you doing with diapers?" Mari asked after a moment of settling herself. It wasn't uncomfortable, it was mainly the feeling that is should be. "Is this a common..." She broke off as Ginger spun to face her, the nurse's face set in stone.

"Don't. Ask." Ginger said flatly. "Just...don't..." She shook her head and her smile came back. "No one will find out about your problems from me. I will tell the foreman they are handled. Okay?"

"Thank you, Ginger L-89." Mari said quietly, a bit unnerved by the nurse's sudden shifts in emotion. "If you have a tech problem and I have time..." She paused. "That is allowed, is it not?"

"The thought is appreciated. Depending on the problem..." Ginger said with a nod. "I may need to get clearance for you. But it shouldn't be too hard. You are already cleared for most of the bay anyway and there really isn't any need to exit it, now is there?"

"No." Mari agreed, settling herself again. "Self contained. Thank you again, medic Ginger L-89."

"Get back to work, Mari A-73." Ginger said with a smile to take the sting from her words. "And if you need me, call."

Mari smiled as she left the medical area, but it faded as she walked. She wasn't uncomfortable, but...she should have felt something. No matter, she finally decided. She had to get back to work. The foreman was waiting for her as she neared her work area.

"Mari A-73?" The foreman asked. "All done?"

"Ginger L-89 corrected my problem." Mari said with only the hint of a flush. "I have cleaned myself, eaten and drunk as ordered. May I return to work?"

"Your rest period will begin in four hours." The foreman said with a nod. "Your dormitory is shared with nine other females. Your HUD will lead you there. You will rack your suit for maintenance and sleep for eight hours." He stated. Mari nodded silently. "The MOA that you were working on has been finished. Once you identified the problem, it was an easy fix if time consuming." Mari nodded again. "The new project requires your attention."

"As ordered, foreman." Mari followed the foreman into a sealed off area and presented her ID to a set of guards who nodded to her. They passed her and the foreman through a set of locked doors and into a... Mari froze in place as the wailing of a child in distress was heard.

"They are not really children." The foreman said quietly. "Distressing, I know."

Mari looked around. The area was small. A MOA fabricator sat against one wall and a large diagnostic station was humming nearby. A violet skinned MOA lay on the table, partially disassembled. The wails were coming from the MOA. The techs working on it ignored the noise as they worked.

"If not a child...?" Mari asked slowly. "Am I cleared to know what is making that noise?"

"The Command and Control MOAs use cloned brain tissue as the basis for their neural net." The foreman said with a nod. "There really isn't supposed to be enough to act on its own. But we have been having...problems." He said dryly. "You saw one."

"It tried to flee and spoke." Mari said, bemused. "That is atypical from what I know of proxies."

"Yes." The foreman sighed. "The initial design used actual brains as the basis for the CPU." Mari hesitated in mid step and the foreman nodded to her as she hurried to follow. "Barbaric, but effective."

"What kind of interface?" Mari asked, her tone clinical.

"Initially, a direct neural feed." The foreman replied as he led her to another room, this one packed with computers. A data entry terminal sat on one side and a chair had been paled in front of it. "We need to improve the control functions. Let's see what you can do."

"Yes sir." Mari replied as she sat, but waited until he had authorized her access to the systems. When he stepped back, she nodded and raised her hands. A holographic interface appeared and she pulled up the first file, the one marked 'Command and Control'. She stared at the design schematics that appeared and shuddered. "This is...a very inefficient design." Mari complained after a moment. "It is almost as if this thing was designed to be a torture device instead of a proxy."

"It may have been." The foreman agreed. Mari looked at him and he shrugged. "We don't have a lot of information on the initial design. Like we said, much of it was lost with the prototype." Mari didn't ask what had happened, that wasn't her business. But...

"What are my parameters, Foreman?" Mari asked after a moment. "What does the Company require from this proxy?"

"We want to see if we can make the standard proxies smarter." The foreman said with a nod. "As they are, they are expendable weapons platforms. The Hyena, Jackal and Raptor autonomous models are much more capable but also far more expensive to produce. This would be a middle ground between the two."

"It would be a weak link, foreman Kilis." Mari protested mildly, her eyes intent on the design. "If something were to happen to the command and control node, then the linked proxies would either revert to their base programming...or..." She broke off and blanched under her helmet.

"We think that is what happened to the prototype, Mari A-73." The foreman said with a shudder. "All the MOAs it encountered suddenly turned on their masters. Hence the security here. And the fact that our prototype has no communication gear except voice. Security has orders in case this one goes rogue. They will destroy it. Which would stop us in our tracks. This is the only one we have managed to build so far."

"We can't have that." Mari said softly as she perused the design. "I can see a number of places that improvements can be made. With your permission, foreman?" She asked.

"I will be back in three hours and twenty six minutes." The foreman said with a nod. "To make sure you rest." Mari nodded and keyed an alarm on her console for three hours and twenty one minutes. "Good girl." He said with a grin in his voice as he turned to go only to pause as Mari spoke.

"Foreman?" She asked. "Can I exit this area to use the facilities if needed?"

"Yes." He said with a nod that bobbed his whole torso, connected as it was to the boxy helmet . "I will have a word with the guards."

"Thank you, foreman." Mari said quietly as she focused on her work.

The foreman left without another word. But...she couldn't concentrate very well. She could hear into the other room and the wails from the MOA were continuing. Then she paused.

"What the...?"

She stared at the readouts and then pulled up a graph of the sound the MOA was making. Her eyes went wide under her helmet as she saw something very odd. She rose from her terminal and walked into the main room. The other techs were busy with their work and ignored her as she stepped up to the MOA. She touched it slowly and carefully, reaching into an access port and disconnecting a certain power junction. She pulled a blackened connector out as the wails cut off abruptly. All the techs turned to stare at her and she sighed.

"Wha...?" The voice she had heard from the MOA before sounded dazed, scared and hurt. "Who...?" It sounded young, and sort of female.

"I pulled a connection that was shorting, it was causing you pain." Mari said quietly. "I apologize for the discomfort you have endured."

"It hurt..." The childlike voice sounded. "It hurt so much... I couldn't understand anyone..." The voice pleaded.

"If something had been sending electric shocks into _my_ brain, I bet I wouldn't have been very coherent either." Mari said with a snap. The others techs quickly found work to do. "My name is Mari A-73. I will help, but I need yours."

"Anything I can do." The voice said, sounding immensely grateful. "Just... please don't hurt me again. I will help. I will do anything... I was built to serve. But it hurt." She said sadly.

"Well, pain is done for now." Mari said with a sigh. "I am detailed to upgrade your chassis. It needs a lot of work. Will you help me?"

"Gladly." The MOA replied. "I am CCX-2."

"Pleased to meet you, CCX-2." Mari said with a smile as she turned to her terminal. "Let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

"What the...?" Foreman Kilis' voice was startled as Mari finished shutting down her terminal. She still had three minutes before the end of her shift. "Mari A-73, why is the MOA released and standing beside you?" He demanded.

"Foreman Kilis?" Mari replied as she finished up. "This is CCX-2. It's problem was a faulty motor assembly that was putting current directly into the neural feeds." The foreman inhaled sharply and Mari nodded. "The pain had to be indescribable."

"I...see..." The foreman said with a wince.

"I apologize for my actions." CCX-2 said sadly. "I did not understand. Everything hurt and I couldn't make myself understood. I was built to serve, but I couldn't." It sounded abject. "Mari A-73 and I have found other problems in my housing and are working on fixing them. Don't punish her please? She is kind."

"It's all right, CCX-2." Mari said when the foreman didn't speak. "Now I need some downtime. Are you going to be good for the other techs?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, Mari A-73." The MOA replied calmly. "I will do my best. Rest well." The MOA returned to the table and lay down where it had been restrained when Mari had arrived.

"How did you _do_ that, Mari A-73?" Foreman Kilis asked, nearly in awe. "Get _it_ to help?"

"I used a carrot instead of a stick."


	3. Chapter 3

**Colleagues**

Mari walked into the dormitory and paused, looking around. Nine other females shared the shift with her and like her, had just gotten off shift. Not all were present however. Ten beds were laid out in orderly rows. Each had a suit hangar and a personal locker beside them. One suit hangar was empty and Mari moved to that one. The women on either side nodded to her as she took off her protective armor and racked it for maintenance and recharging but then paused as they saw what she was wearing under it.

"What?" A woman with dark hair who was sitting on the bed next to hers asked as she stared at Mari. "We have a baby with us!" Mari ignored her. "What? You come in here with that on and think you can ignore us?"

"Hush, Kintas." One of the others said sharply. "She has a problem. Don't make _yourself_ a problem." The loudmouth woman flushed a bit, but Mari just shook her head.

"You didn't speak to me. I didn't hear anything to take offense to." Mari said as she stepped into the dorm's refresher area to a chorus of small laughs.

She took off her still unsoiled covering and discarded it with a grimace. Then she chose a small shower cubicle. She relaxed and let the sonic pulses scour away the grime of a day's hard work inside a sealed protective suit. She arced her shoulders and let the worries of the day flow away with the dirt. The cycle finished and she smiled a bit sadly as she stepped from the cubicle, onto to find the woman who had spoken waiting for her, a towel in hand that she held out to Mari.

"I apologize for being rude." The woman said with a bob of her head. "I was startled."

"No more startled than _I_ was when the nurse suggested it." Mari said with a sad smile as she took the towel, and wrapped it around herself. "Thanks."

"You should find a disposable covering in your locker every night, but since you are brand new, you wouldn't know that yet."The woman said with a shy smile. "My name is Kintas O-87."

"Mari A-73" Mari said in reply, her own smile coming out. "You work in the lab?"

"I work on data entry." Kintas said. Mari made a face and the other woman nodded. "I know. Not the most stimulating of work, but needed."

"Don't I know it." Mari agreed as she started for the door. "How long until 'lights out'?"

"About five minutes." Kintas said with a shake of her head. "Zana is not going to make it." Mari raised an eyebrow and Kintas sighed. "She has a...friend... in another dorm. They...talk."

"A friend?" Mari asked and Kintas made a leering face. Mari sighed. "_That_ kind of friend?" Mari asked slowly. Kintas nodded. "Um... Isn't that...?" She broke off, not sure how far she could press.

"Fraternization on company time is against the rules, yeah." Kintas said with a sigh as they entered the dorm again. This time no one paid Mari any mind. "I mean, no one really cares if she sees a guy on her time, but..." She shrugged.

"She is not _on_ her own time, is she?" Mari asked softly.

"No." Kintas said sadly. "Our downtime is company time. But she insists she can get away with it."

"She is wrong." Mari said with a shiver than Kintas shared. She moved to her bed and Kintas sat on a bed nearby. "Yours?"

"Yeah." Kintas said sadly. "I had to apologize. And,... I am curious. How did you know the proxy was shorting? Nothing showed on the meters." Several pairs of eyes were watching Mari now, but she ignored them as she focused on Kintas.

"I heard a crackling." Mari said as she opened her locker and yes, a covering was within as well as a bundle of the disposable things that she was coming to loathe. "I am going to _hate_ these things..." Mari said sourly as she wrapped a new one on. Then she pulled the covering on, not surprised that it fit as if it had been made for her. It had been. "And then the wailing matched the oscillations of a particular motor. Thanks for the towel." She said as she placed it in the dirty laundry bin.

"No problem. You _heard_...?" Kintas asked, stretching out on her bed. "Oh..." She made a face. "You were not wearing a helmet yet."

"The auditory filters built into the armored helmets can cut a lot of small noises." Mari agreed as she lay down. "My first electronics teacher had us listen for hours, trying to hear a circuit arcing. It can be a lifesaver. Power doesn't always arc but the sound has kept me from grabbing a few wires in my time." She shuddered dramatically. "So I like to hear what is going on around me."

"You know... you can deafened for life if something big goes bang nearby." Another woman said quietly.

"True. There are always tradeoffs." Mari agreed, laying her head down and immediately feeling the somatic unit start to power up . She sat up again, not wanting to fall asleep immediately. "The armor helps a lot. Wish I had possessed something like it when I started my work."

"You didn't have protective gear?" Kintas asked, confused. "Where was this?"

"I grew up in a small colony habitat." Mari said as she sat up. Several of the others were listening. "I...don't remember much of how I go here." She said a bit sadly. "I was told I was found in a survival pod. That I had been there for some time."

"A cryo pod?" Kintas asked, worried. "But don't those mess with memory if you spend too long in them?" Mari nodded and Kintas inhaled Several of the other women looked sympathetic. "I am sorry." KIntas said holding out a hand. Mari took it and Kintas gave her hand a squeeze.

"The docs aren't sure what happened to my memory." Mari admitted as she retracted her hand. "But my memories from before that are clear. My training, my work in robotics." Kintas nodded slowly and smiled. Mari shared the smile. "I can help, I can serve."

"You will be a great asset to us." Kintas said quietly and a murmur of agreement went around the room. Then the lights flickered. "Time." She waved to Mari and Mari lay down. All the other women lay down as well, all of them slowly going under from the somatic induction field projectors embedded in their pillows.

"One person unaccounted for." A mechanical voice sounded. "Zana I-34 will be punished. Rest time will begin in thirty seconds. Serve the Machine. Obey all commands from Corporate officers."

"We serve the Machine." Mari intoned with all the others. "We obey all commands from Corporate officers."

"We are all cogs in the Machine." The voice intoned again. "We have purpose. We have meaning."

"We are all cogs in the machine." Mari intoned along with the others despite her eyelids slowly closing against her will. The field that the projector was using was gentle but very strong and was geared to her brainwaves, soothing them into sleep patterns. "We have purpose, we have meaning."

"We obey and we are rewarded." The voice intoned. "We disobey and we are punished. We serve."

"We serve." Mari said as she nodded off to a soft drone of noise. The speakers that were also embedded in her pillow would reinforce her Indoctrination while she slept.

* * *

Mari jerked. What the? What had just happened? She had been sliding into sleep and now she was...somewhere else? A woman sat in front of her, a woman whose face was covered by an odd helmet/mask thing.

"We don't have a lot of time, Mari. I can't keep this signal going for long or it will be detected. It will be anyway, but I do not want to push things too soon." The woman said with a nod. "I know you are confused and scared. It's okay." She said gently.

"I serve." Mari said, trying to dredge up worry, but it didn't come. "I live to serve."

"No." The woman corrected her. "No, you don't. You will remember when you need to, Mari. But you saw what they did to that poor girl. We need to stop them and you are the key. But they do not trust you yet. They must trust you for you to achieve your objective, so we will act to gain you their trust. You will not die."

"This is...wrong..." Mari said, jerking back. "You are not Corpus. I must not associate with others. Others do not believe. Others do not follow. Others are evil." She held up her hands in a warding gesture.

"It's all right, Mari." The strange woman said with a gentle smile. "I will not harm you. Karl and the others know where you are and what you are doing. Go back to sleep. Do not fear, Mari. I am the Lotus and we are watching." She was fading. Or Mari was.

* * *

Mari jerked awake, her pulse pounding, but nothing came to her senses. She looked around, but all the other women were fast asleep. She could feel the somatic unit buzzing, but her jolt of adrenaline kept her from going under again. A soft exclamation sounded from nearby. A uniformed Proctor came into her field of view. The Proctors were responsible for keeping the peace within each dormitory and also for keeping all their charges healthy.

"Mari A-73, are you well?" The woman asked, her face stern.

"No." Mari said quietly. "I... I do not know what just happened. I do not remember a dream or a nightmare, but I... Something happened."

"Do not move. Let me check your bed's systems." The proctor said. Mari waited as the woman pulled up a hologram and then shook her head. "There is an anomalous signal embedded in your somatic unit. I cannot trace where it came from."

"Have I been subverted by the evil ones?" Mari asked, scared.

"I do not know, Mari A-73." The proctor said softly. "I will summon the guards. Sit up." She commanded. Mari did as ordered. She waited while the Proctor hit a series of controls. "Obey the guards." The Proctor said with a nod.

"Of course, Proctor." Mari said, not daring to move as a pair of armored guards, weapons ready, entered the dormitory. The Proctor waved to them and they came close. One motioned for Mari to stand with the muzzle of his Dera rifle and she did. She did not flinch as the other guard clasped quick restraints on her wrists, binding them together. "What must I do?" She asked, her tone one step up from terror, when the guard stepped back.

"Come." The guard with the rifle said as the two guards moved to stand on either side of Mari. She walked in silence as the two guards led her from the room. They led her into another series of corridors, one she hadn't seen, and past a door marked 'Security'. As soon as the door opened, Mari heard screams. The guard who has spoken nodded to Mari. "Disobey and be punished."

"I will obey." Mari said terror oozing from every pore as they passed a set of racks where various struggling forms were restrained while energy played over them. "I will obey." Mari said, clinging to her obedience as they passed into another room, a smaller one where a large chair was set up as the sole furniture. It had rests for arms, legs and head. All of which had straps attached.

"Sit." The guard prodded her gently and Mari jerked out of her fear. She had to obey.

"I obey." Mari said as she sat stiffly.

"Mari A-73, you will sleep here." The guard said as he and his partner started moving her limbs into the proper places and strapping them down. "Your brainwaves will be scanned and your memories scrutinized." Mari would have nodded except the other guard was strapping her head to the chair.

"I understand." Mari said quietly. But then she heard herself ask. "Will it hurt?"

"That is up to you." The guard said quietly. "If you do not resist, there will be no pain."

"I will not resist."Mari said as a machine lowered from the ceiling. It shone with energy. "I obey."

"Good girl." The guard said approvingly. "Now if only that idiot Zana I-34 would be half as obedient as you..." He said sourly as the machine unfolded to slowly clasp around Mari's head, obscuring her vision.

"They _really_ need to curb her appetites or there will be major problems." The other guard said. "Do not be distracted from your duty, Mari A-73. Company time is company time."

"The company is my master." Mari said calmly. "I owe the Company everything. I will be diligent and obey all instructions."

"Good girl." The first guard said, his voice approving. "Rest, Mari A-73. We will get to the bottom of this anomaly." Mari was asleep before she could form a proper response.

* * *

Mari woke suddenly to find herself back in her bed in the dormitory. Had that all been a dream? She looked up to see the chrono for the shift change from a soothing red to a bright green. She jerked out of the bed and into motion as the alert claxon that sounded the shift change started. The covering tore and she tossed it into a recycling bin in passing as she stepped into her armored suit. A quick check showed its power cells recharged and all system in green. A note showed as her HUD powered up. A glance showed that it came from Security.

'Someone hacked your somatic unit. We believe you were the target of attempted industrial espionage.' The note read. 'Report any and all such changes in routine immediately. We are watching.' Mari inhaled sharply. Kintas, nearby, paused in her own activation cycle.

"Mari A-73?" Kintas asked.

"Someone hacked my somatic unit last night." Mari said clearly. All the woman in earshot froze momentarily. "Possible industrial espionage. Security will send a warning to all I bet, but extra diligence cannot hurt. Did anyone else have anomalies?" Heads shook around the room and then each went into the boxy armored helmets. "Good, maybe it was just me. I hope Security catches them quickly. I do not want to worry myself to sleep tonight."

"Security will catch them." Kintas said as she closed up her suit. "Check me?"

She asked as Mari did the same. Mari did a quick but thorough check of all the seals of Kintas' suit then waited while Kintas did the same for her. Automated checks were all well and good, but nothing had ever been invented -yet anyway- that could take the place of a buddy check system.

"Looks good." Mari said quietly. "Let's go get breakfast. We have a lot of work to do today."

"Indeed." The mechanical voice from the night before sounded. "Live to work. Work to live."

"We live to work." Everyone in the room spoke as Mari did. "We work to live."


	4. Chapter 4

**Attack**

She was chortling when it happened. CCX-2 was _not_ a standard proxy by anyone's stretch of imagination. Mari had been assigned to the proxy exclusively and the pair had turned into an efficient team. That stood to reason, the proxy had been programmed to serve and so had Mari. They understood one another, and while there was a bit of friction occasionally - mostly since CCX-2 was essentially an innocent- Mari did not hold it against the proxy. She -Mari had difficulty remembering to call CCX-2 an 'it' now- had made Mari laugh. Mari had commented on how times had changed since her last memories and the MOA had asked for some basic history files. It had taken some time for the request to work its way up the chain of command and back down, but then Mari had been given a huge file of...stuff for the MOA to peruse. All kinds of stuff. Ancient records mostly. She had looked for the records of what had happened to her colony, but some thoughtful person had deleted that file. Probably for the best even though the pang of grief still hurt. But then CCX-2 had dredged up something that had made Mari giggle.

The proxy had been trying to get Mari to laugh after she had looked for her colony's information. It had depressed her a bit that she didn't know what had happened. So CCX-2 had taken it upon itself to lighten her mood. One of the things that they had managed to hook up properly on the chassis was a hologram projector. Mari didn't know here CCX-2 had gotten that particular image, but it hilarious. CCX-2 had asked Mari how it looked and when Mari had turned, she had seen the MOA with a tall hat of some kind, an odd hairy thing that moved attached to it's beak -was that a mustache? Mari wasn't sure- and what looked for all the world like a large glass lens of some kind over one ocular sensor. All holographic of course, but still... Then it had asked if she wanted some tea in an odd dialect. She had burst out laughing and all the other techs had spun to see what she had seen and all had been chortling at the MOA's _odd_ sense of humor.

She was turning back to her terminal after dressing down the MOA for misuse of company property. Not seriously, of course, but with everything recorded, she wanted to make sure that the security types didn't overreact to the childlike MOA's joke. So she had told the MOA never to do that again while at the same time, laughing. CCX-2 had understood. But then Mari had gone back to work and seen something that had made her freeze. It wasn't anything that she understood.

The odd silhouette was in one of the large air vents. That duct always had cover, but it was gone. The shadow within the duct was humanoid in shape, but...not. From somewhere in her mind, she dredged up the feeling that it was a female shape, but from the shadows it clung to, she couldn't be sure. It had an odd thing on it's head, it looked kind of like a crest. Or... Mari went completely still as the shape catapulted itself from the vent to land silently in front of her. She stared at it, now revealed. It _was_ proportioned like a human female, but...not. It had white and brown coloring, with reds and oranges in various places. The crest was odd. It looked like a flame, sort of. Mari stared at it and then her eyes went wide. Not Corpus. Other! Intruder! She jumped for an alarm panel nearby.

Something slammed into Mari from behind as she slapped the panel and every alarm in the facility suddenly went off. All eyes turned to Mari as she fell, her lower body suddenly numb. She heard someone scream a word. One she didn't know.

"**_Tenno!_**"

Then there were more screams as Mari fell to the floor, trying to get up, to help, to do anything. She couldn't. She managed to roll onto her back despite pain that immediately seared through her to see the other unarmed techs herded to one side of the room as the odd humanoid form moved towards the MOA which was cowering in a corner. Mari managed to get her voice working.

"Leave..." Mari was amazed her voice was as clear as it was. "Leave her alone..." She called in a weak voice.

The intruder paused, turned back to look at Mari and then something flashed from it's hand. It happened too fast for her to even cry out, but suddenly warm liquid was running down her face as one of her eyes stopped working. It didn't hurt, but she knew it should. She heard CCX-2 scream.

"Mari A-73! _No_!" The MOA shouted and suddenly it darted from the oddly shaped humanoid and moved to stand protectively over Mari. "Bad! Bad person!" CCX-2 shouted. "Go away!"

Shouts nearby heralded the arrival of a squad of security troops who opened fire immediately. The odd female humanoid dodged through the plasma fire effortlessly and jumped back into the vent. Then it was gone. The guards pursued it as one of the techs ran to a first aid locker and pulled the kit before running to Mari's side.

"Mari A-73..." The MOA said, stepping away a bit. "You are leaking...That is not good. Is it?" It begged, pathetic in its need for reassurance.

"No." Mari admitted as the other tech started working. "But... I will be all right, CCX-2." She grunted as something hurt, but kept pain from her voice through sheer effort. "Start... Start working on the redesign for the secondary motor assembly please? I will be... a while."

"Stop talking and moving, Mari A-73." The commanding voice of nurse Ginger L-89 came. "You have an embedded object and other injuries." Mari stopped moving as the nurse came close, taking the place of the tech who moved aside gratefully. "Sleep, Mari A-73." A hiss sounded and Mari fell into blackness.

* * *

"What happened?"

The voice of what had to be an executive sounded, pulling Mari out of a troubled sleep. She was lying on something soft and nothing hurt, but she couldn't move and didn't want to. She tried to open her eyes and couldn't. But it didn't matter. Nothing did. She listened, disinterested.

"A Tenno got past our security." The voice of a guard sounded. "It entered the research lab through one of the supposedly secured ducts." His voice was sharp. "I have crews sealing _all_ the ducts now."

"What was it after?" The executive demanded. "And how did it get past the outer perimeter?"

"We do not know what it was after but as to how it got in? It killed two patrols." The guard replied with hate in his voice. "Ambushed them and slaughtered them all along with all their proxies before any could sound an alarm. No survivors."

"Blasted Tenno." The executive swore. "It just isn't _fair_. They are our property! Why can they not _accept_ that?" No one answered and the executive sighed. When he spoke again, it was in a calmer voice. "The damage to Mari A-73?"

"Her spinal cord was cut at the second lumbar vertebrae." The voice of Ginger L-89 was clinical and precise, but held anger. "The blade went right through her armor and then through her. It tore through her intestines and made a mess of her right kidney and spleen before exiting out her front. We found it embedded in a wall. We were in time to prevent any organ death, but she will need extensive repairs. The second blade that hit her was aimed to kill, but it was slowed by her helmet armor, and she must have been turning at the time, so it caught in her left eye socket. She lost the eye, but the blade did not penetrate to her brain. Again, time consuming to repair, but not long term damaging." Mari should have felt fear, pain...something. But she was suspended in a gray haze. "She is alive and she was speaking, so no cognitive impairment. She is coming around."

"I see." The executive said calmly. "How soon can she be back up?"

"If we get her into surgery quickly..." Ginger said quietly. "By the end of shift today. She was scheduled to go in anyway for repairs to her excretory system, but not for two more days. All her preliminary tests were done."

"I am being pressed for results. The Board wants something now." The executive said with a sigh. "I will expedite her entry into surgery. But, how can we keep this from happening again?"

"Sir." The guard said quietly. "My department has repeatedly requested more personnel and funding. We don't have the manpower or proxies to cover the areas we need to. We are stretched too thin."

"I know that." The executive snapped and then sighed. "My apologies. I know you are doing the best you can, but with everything else going on and the Grineer threatening our stockpiles... I keep putting your requests for personnel and funding up the chain and they keep punting them back to me as non-essential."

"Well... We do have _one_ ultra secure facility on planet, sir." The guard said quietly. "No way a Tenno would get in _there_."

"You cannot be serious." The executive sounded thoughtful rather than dismissive though. "Medic?" He asked.

"She is going to need time to recover no matter what. At least a day." Ginger said calmly. "There are facilities in there for research and development. If we sent her in with the MOA...She can work on it there, maybe help them streamline the process? From all accounts, she does more with it in minutes than all our techs have managed in weeks."

"I don't know if I can swing that." The executive said with a frown in his voice. "She hasn't been fully indoctrinated yet."

"She sounded the alarm, sir." The guard said diffidently. "From her recorded reactions, she had no idea _what_ the Tenno _was_. When she realized it wasn't Corporate, she acted in our best interests and nearly died for it."

"I don't know." The executive replied with a sigh. "I will ask. But they may ship her off to HQ for full decompression and analysis while they fix her up. Don't grimace like that, Medic Ginger L-89." He said with a snort. "Mari A-73 is a priceless asset. We must protect her until we can duplicate her expertise."

"I know." Ginger replied. "The Company comes first, but she is fitting in here."

"And uprooting her on top of the extensive repairs she will need will cause more psychological trauma." The executive agreed sourly. "Is she awake?"

"Yes sir." Ginger said after a moment. "But not all the way. Mari A-73? Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Mari managed to get the word out.

"You are hurt, Mari A-73." Ginger said gently. "But the executive and the guard captain wish to speak with you. Your eyes are covered and you are strapped down, so don't struggle, okay?"

"I understand." Mari said, her words coming as if from far away. "I obey."

"Yes, you do." The executive's voice was gentle now. "What do you remember?"

"I was...working..." Mari said slowly, her drug fuddled brain operating far slower than it should. "CCX-2 was trying to make me laugh and succeeded. I was... distressed not to find information on my colony."

"The _proxy_ was trying to make you _laugh_?" The guard captain asked in disbelief.

"CCX-2 is _not _a normal proxy." Mari said defensively, but then her ire faded as something clicked and she drifted a little.

"Easy, Mari A-73." Ginger reprimanded her gently. "Don't stress yourself. We have you on support, but there are limits. Guard Captain, check your recordings of what she has done with that MOA. It is _not_ a normal MOA by _any_ stretch of the imagination." She said in reproof.

"I will take your word for it, medic." The guard replied evenly. "But it is my job to be suspicious."

"Indeed it is." The executive sounded as if he wanted to laugh. "I just perused that file and... I would have laughed too at that hologram." He chuckled but then his voice turned serious. "And then?"

"I saw something in the shadows, in the duct. There was supposed to be a cover on that duct. There wasn't." Mari said slowly. "I couldn't make it out. And then it jumped out. Nothing human can move like that. What _was_ that?" She asked, fear coming despite the drugs.

"Easy, Mari A-73." Ginger said as a hand rubbed her arm. "It's okay. It's over." Warmth spread through her from her arm and lassitude eased her. "It was a Tenno."

"A Tenno?" Mari asked, scouring her memory, but coming up blank. "What is a Tenno and why did it attack me?"

"Tenno are relics of ancient times." The executive said with a snap. "Dangerous relics. We use the ones we acquire. But they have minds of their own and are very dangerous. As for why it attacked you? We don't know."

"It was moving towards CCX-2." Mari said slowly. "The techs had run -there was no way for them to fight it unarmed- and it let them. It was focused on the MOA. Why?" She said softly. "CCX-2 isn't armed. It was less of a threat than the techs were. Why did that...Tenno..." She worked her mouth around the odd word. "...do that?"

"We don't know." The executive said with a sigh. "We need to find out."

"What can I do to help?" Mari asked after a moment. "CCX-2 is a priceless asset. She...it is a.." She broke off.

"Are you empathizing with a proxy, Mari A-73?" The executive asked softly.

"It is hard not to." Mari replied. "It...trusts us. It has the mind of a child and wants to be good." Her breath was coming in gasps now but she continued as best she could. "It... It trusts _me_. It considers me a friend and it is hard not to reciprocate." She slumped, spent.

"Well..." The executive said after a moment. "Your results speak for themselves. Rest for now, Mari A-73. I will report to the board, see what they say. But your first priority now is to heal. We need you whole and functional."

"Yes sir." Mari said quietly. "Did they find out who hacked my somatic unit? I am scared to sleep." She admitted.

"Not yet." The guard captain said quietly. "The signal came from a disused terminal in an abandoned section of the base. It should have been isolated from the network, but apparently someone managed to hook it back up. We have disabled it permanently now."

"Am I a threat?" Mari asked, scared despite the drugs.

"No." Ginger snapped. "Will all due respect, Executive Seim, Guard Captain... You are stressing my patient. While she is injured, she is my responsibility and she needs sleep to rest and gain strength. _Especially_ if she is going into surgery today."

"She is right." The executive said in a placating tone. "I will lean on some people to get Mari A-73 into surgery today. And you guard captain, will find out who tried to hack her and why the Tenno tried to steal our prototype and kill our best robotics tech." The quiet words were a command.

"Yes sir." The guard replied calmly.

"All right, they are gone. Enough excitement, Mari A-73." Ginger said gently. "Sleep now." Mari drifted off into a world populated by violet MOAs, crying children and oddly garbed strangers with otherworldly powers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Research**

When Mari woke again, she was lying on a bed in what was obviously a surgical recovery ward. She wore a patient gown instead of her armor, but that was okay. But as she looked around, she felt...off. It was strange. The room's proportions were...wrong. Everything looked wrong. She raised a trembling hand to her face and found the truth, cold metal on her face where her eye had been. Her questing fingers found the ocular sensor that had been grafted into her eye socket and tears started falling from her flesh and blood eye. But they were not tears of fear or pain, they were tears of joy. She was part of the machine now.

"Mari A-73?" A soft voice asked from nearby and Mari turned her head to see a woman clad as a nurse sitting nearby. The woman smiled at her. "Don't cry, Mari A-73, it's all right."

"I am not sad. I am happy. I am a cog." Mari said happily. "I am part machine. I..." She sat up and gasped as the world spun around her.

"Easy." The nurse exclaimed, rising and coming to Mari's bedside. "You have been out of surgery less than an hour. They brought you down here to recuperate." She took hold of Mari's shoulders and eased the shuddering woman back onto the bed. "Easy." She commanded, still gentle, but to be obeyed.

"Yes, Ma'am." Mari said softly, closing her flesh and blood eye. When she did, the circuit apparently tripped for her mechanical one and the feed from it dimmed. She opened her flesh and blood eye again and the mechanical one showed an image again. She smiled. "This is marvelous."

"They tried to graft in a cloned replacement." The nurse's voice was still gentle as she returned to her seat. "The transplant didn't take, so they put in a mechanical one."

"I can see." Mari said with a quirky smile. "How doesn't matter as long as I can serve. You know my name, may I know yours?" She asked respectfully.

"I am medical supervisor Elspeth G-12." The woman said with a nod and a smile. "I am in charge of this facility and everything in it. Now, that includes you and your partner."

"My... partner?" Mari asked, confused.

"Better brace yourself." Elspeth said with a smile as she keyed a control. A door nearby opened and a large violet blur streaked into the room.

"Mari A-73!" CCX-2 said as it came to a sudden halt by her bed. "You are functional again!"

"I told you I would be fine." Mari said, laying a hand on the warm hull of the MOA. The many powerful systems contained within made the hull warm to the touch rather than cold as metal normally was. "Have you been behaving?"

"CCX-2 has been on remarkably good behavior." Elspeth said with a smile. "We have been treating 'her'..." The nurse emphasized the pronoun. "...as a sentient instead of as a proxy and the results, as you found, have been extraordinary."

"How long was I out?" Mari asked, dazed as the MOA leaned gently into her touch.

"You were in surgery for eighteen hours." Elspeth said gently. "They had to repair and replace quite a bit. They did get your excretory system working." Mari patted her abdomen and her fingers felt a square metal protrusion on her left side. Elspeth smiled at Mari's exclamation of joy. "No more diapers for you." The supervisor said with a grin.

"Thank you." Mari said with feeling as she examined the port that housed her waste module with her fingers. Then she sobered. "How bad was I?"

"Pretty bad. Aside from the eye you lost... Your spine was severed." Elspeth said with a shake of her head. "You had massive soft tissue and organ damage. After splicing your spine back together, they replaced your spleen and one of your kidneys as well as repairing your intestines. Most of that was cloned replacements, but some cybernetics were required, like the eye."

"I am _not_ complaining." Mari said softly. "I have nothing but gratitude. I can continue to serve."

"Good." Elspeth said with a smile. "Because I am going to put both you and your partner to work here."

"I am ready." Mari said, sitting up despite her dizziness.

"Oh, no you don't." Elspeth said with mock severity. "I had word from a Foreman Kilis. He said I would have to chain you down if I wanted you to rest." She glared at Mari but it was obviously mocking. "Will I?"

"I..." Mari shook her head and sank back to the bed. "No, Supervisor Elspeth." Mari said with a small smile.

"Good." Elspeth said with a smile of her own. "You can work from the bed and CCX-2 can be your hands and feet while you are confined to it. We should be able to let you up tomorrow morning, barring any complications."

"What do you need me to do?" Mari asked, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

"We are working to streamline the production of units like CCX-2 here." Elspeth said with a fond smile. 'Now that we have proof of concept, and a working prototype, the Board is going to want more examples to test."

"I see." Mari said with a nod. "Well..." She mused. "...between CCX-2 and myself, we should be able to help."

"I will have a portable terminal sent in for you." Elspeth promised. "But for now..." She picked up a tray that had been hidden on a low table behind her and moved to the bedside. "CCX-2...if you would?" The MOA moved to the wall and carefully nudged a rolling table so that it moved over Mari's bed. "Thank you." Elspeth said fondly as she laid the tray down so Mari could get at it. "Nothing solid for now, Mari A-73, but nourishing."

"I don't know how hungry I am..." Mari said then paused as he stomach rumbled. Elspeth grinned at her expression.

"Well, at least _part_ of you has sense. The surgical wards here are top notch, Mari A-73." The supervisor said with nod. "Take it slow and easy for a bit and you shouldn't have any problems at all."

"I will do what I can to be worthy of the care I have been given." Mari said with a suddenly tight throat.

"I know." Elspeth said fondly, patting her hand, then stepping back. "I need to go authorize the terminal. A tech should be in with it within the hour. We are on a closed network, off the main grid." Mari's flesh and blood eye went wide at that and Elspeth nodded. "What goes on in here stays off the grids."

"I see." Mari said soberly. The only way to be totally secure in a universe of interconnectivity was to not be connected. "I assume we are shielded?" She asked carefully.

"Totally." Elspeth said with a nod. "We may or may not keep you here, depending on what the Board says. So... Even when you can walk without getting dizzy, don't go exploring, please. The automated security will not hesitate to gun you down and that would be a waste." She warned. Mari nodded with a gulp. "For now, eat, rest and then we have some research for you to do."

"Yes, Ma'am." Mari said as she reached for the tray. Elspeth smiled, patted her hand again and left the room. Mari opened the sealed platter that sat on the tray and found a steaming bowl of soup with a spoon. She picked up the spoon and smiled as CCX-2 moved a little closer. "You want some?" She asked with a smile.

"They included a neural feed in the eye." CCX-2 said, it's tone hesitant. Mari paused, the full spoon halfway to her mouth. "No, eat..." The MOA said softly. "You need the nourishment. I read a great deal on human anatomy...after..." Mari took the mouthful of soup and waited. After a moment, the MOA spoke again. "I am scared." The MOA said in a tiny voice.

"What has scared you?" Mari asked, taking another spoonful. "I am here, and I will help if I can."

"My earliest memories are of this place." CCX-2 said after a minute. "Pain and fear and..." It trailed off as Mari laid her spoon down. "No..." It begged her."Mari A-73, please eat."

"And coming back here brings them all back." Mari said, holding out her hand. The MOA stepped close and Mari laid her hand on the housing. "It's all right, CCX-2." Mari said with a sigh. "You are all right."

_But you are not._ The voice of the MOA sounded in Mari's head. She jerked but then she relaxed. The neural feed would allow her to communicate with the MOA quickly and silently. Great for workflow.

_I am alive, my friend. _Mari sent back over the link._ Be easy._

_I... _CCX-2 sounded even more afraid now. _I was looking for information on your past. I... I found some._

_You did?_ Mari asked, incredulous. _How?_

_I may not be able to access the information directly..._ CCX-2 sounded a bit smug now. _But I am not stupid. I can access a terminal just like anyone else._

_CCX-2... _Mari said slowly._ If you accessed something you shouldn't have..._

_I...I am supposed to be teaching you how to use the neural feed. _The MOA said after a moment. _I need to show you._

_Okay. _Mari replied over the link. Then a wealth of information flowed into her mind. Files. Plans. And..a memo.

'A woman known only as Mari has applied to the Echo Habitat University for a PhD curriculum. Her scores on the automated placement tests indicate that she is a genius with robotics. There is an addendum that she is a survivor of the wars who is seeking to resume a normal life. There is some question as to whether or not Orokin tech was involved in her survival. We should pursue this. Glory to the Machine.'

Mari gasped and tried to draw away, but the MOA stepped close, an appendage holding her hand on it's hull.

_I am sorry, but you need to see the rest._ CCX-2 said silently, it's tone apologetic.

'Subject has been acquired. Her body shows the signs of prolonged exposure to Orokin cryo technology as well as unidentified technology. From the scans, the technology was used to control her and possibly alter her memories. Her memories end after an interview with an oddly garbed being which may or may not have been a Tenno. Recommend complete scans and Indoctrination. Glory to the Machine..'

_This is..._ Mari said, stunned. _I was..._

_You wanted a normal life and they took it from you._CCX-2 said sadly. _I shouldn't have pried into your business. But she insisted._

_Who?_ Mari asked slowly.

_That would be me._ A new voice intruded into the link. It was female and gentle. _Hello Mari._

_Who...? _Mari swallowed. _Who are you?_

_I am the Lotus. _The voice replied. _You do not remember me but we have spoken before. I asked your help and you offered it without reservation._

_You are not Corpus! _Mari declared in her mind. _How did you get in here? It is shielded!_

_No, I am not Corpus and neither are you. As for how I got in? I have my ways. _ The Lotus said quietly but implacably. _Your new family is very worried about you, Mari. It is all I can do to keep Karl and his people from tearing that place __apart__ to find you. From blowing the whole operation._

_My...family...? _Mari asked, dazed. _What operation?_

_What better spy, Mari..._The Lotus said gently. _...than one who doesn't __know__ she is a spy?_

_No! I will __not__ betray the Company! _ Mari exclaimed in her mind and tried to pull away from the feed, but something seized her. _Let me go! _ She demanded.

_CCX-2, if you would please. _The Lotus commanded. Mari could only shriek in her head as the MOA came close and an appendage extended. It touched her on the face, on her mechanical eye. _See it all, my spy._ The Lotus said calmly. _See what they did to you..._

Mari sank back onto the bed, feeling faint as she watched images unfold in her mind. She saw...herself. The image of her was sitting in a small room, reading a datapad. A pair of forms in familiar armor -Corpus!- burst into the room, both wielding shock prods. Mari's eyes went wide as she saw herself take one of her assailants down with a complicated looking throw that slammed the hapless assailant into the wall. But then the other one connected with a solid blow of his prod and Mari watched herself fall to the floor, twitching. She watched as the two armored forms picked her up and carried her out of the room, one of them unsteady on his feet.

The scene changed. Now Mari saw herself floating in a tank. The Mari in the tank had tubes and wires festooning her. Her face was covered by an odd hood, and she jerked and then jerked again.

_What...?_ Mari begged. _What was that?_

_They interrogated you. You were going to study._ The Lotus said sadly. _You wanted a normal life, a job, a chance at a human family. I picked up the transmissions that the Corpus sent back and forth before they sent the abduction team. I contacted you._

_To warn me? _Mari asked, dazed.

_No._ The Lotus said softly. _To ask your help. And to your credit, you did not hesitate even when I removed some of your memory._

_My help? _ Mari asked, dazed. _With what?_

_You will see._ The Lotus said, her tone hardening. _CCX-2, I will retain the memories for you and her until you need them again. What you do not know, you cannot divulge by accident or by interrogation.  
_

_Easy, Mari A-73..._CCX-2 crooned gently. Mari was screaming silently as something oozed through her, then her mental shrieks cut off and she slumped back to the bed. "Mari A-73?" The MOA asked aloud, it's voice concerned as Mari's eyes opened again. "Are you well?"

"I felt an odd feedback over the neural link." Mari said, shaking her head. "I can't remember what it was, but it scared me."

_"_Odd._"_ CCX-2 said, tilting it's head to the side. "I did not feel anything and I do not have any anomalous readings. But your soup is getting cold." Mari chuckled at its tone. "What?"

You are being a mother hen, CCX-2." Mari said with a smile as she sat up again and took up her spoon. "Look it up."

"I have." CCX-2 was suddenly covered in holographic white feathers. "Cluck, cluck." Mari choked on a laugh and nearly spewed the mouthful of soup she had taken in.

"You are a bad, bad proxy!" Mari declared as she mopped the front of her patient gown with a napkin that had been included on the tray. "When I get out of this bed, I will have to do something nasty to you." The door alert sounded an Mari paused. "Yes?"

"A terminal for you, technician Mari A-73." A young male voice sounded. It sounded...subtly wrong.

"Come in." Mari said as CCX-2 stepped away, her hull reverting to the normal violet shades. She went completely still as another violet form pushed a mobile computer desk with monitor and keyboard into the room. "Ah..." She swallowed.

"Terminal as ordered." The new violet proxy said as it pushed the desk close enough to the bed that Mari could reach it without stretching. The young male voice was robotic and devoid of emotion. "Please log in to test functionality."

"Okay." Mari said as she hit the start up sequence. "You are an earlier prototype?" She asked the newly come MOA.

"No." The MOA stood quietly by the desk. Mari looked at it, but then shook her head. It sounded as if it were not autonomous like CCX-2 was.

"What is your designation?" Mari asked as she logged in on the computer.

"This unit is CCX-5." The violet MOA said with no trace of emotion at all. "Status?" It demanded.

"Nominal." Mari said as she pulled up a holographic interface. "You may go." She said as she focused on the images and schematics that showed. The other MOA left without a word. "They have been trying to duplicate you." She said to CCX-2.

"Yeah." The usually ebullient MOA was almost shaking. Mari stared at CCX-2.

"Are you okay?" Mari asked. "It has to hurt, seeing others like you who are different."

"That is just it. He _was_ like me. _Just_ like me." CCX-2 said in a soft, scared voice. "When last I conversed with him, he was like me. Now? He is just a machine." Mari stared at the MOA and then at the door before shuddering. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know, but we will find out." Mari said as she took a bite of her soup before started to hit holographic keys. "It looks like they have been working on the neural feed interface between the cloned brain tissue and the CPU. Hmm... What do you think? Start at the secondary junction?"

"Yes." CCX-2 said as it focused on the holo as well. "We can start there and go both directions simultaneously. From there we can..."

Mari ate carefully as she and CCX-2 started working. Research was all well and good, but they would also need more information to formulate any workable hypothesis as to what they had fallen into.


	6. Chapter 6

**Brains**

"Mari A-73?" Elspeth's concerned voice sounded from the door and Mari looked up from her terminal, her eyes bleary. The supervisor stared at Mari and then glared at the MOA which stood by the bed. CCX-2 seemed to wilt a bit. "How long have you been working?" She demanded.

"Uh..." Mari stared at the supervisor and then at the chrono on her monitor. She blanched and then slumped. "Fourteen hours." She admitted a bit sheepishly.

"I took my rest break when you had your second meal. Nine hours ago." Elspeth looked suspicious. "You _did_ eat it, right?" She asked sourly.

"I made her eat and drink, supervisor Elspeth G-12." CCX-2 said, it's tone worried. " I have taken her waste modules to the disposal chute every four hours." The supervisor looked from the MOA to the bedridden woman and gave out a long suffering sigh.

"He was right." Elspeth said with a grimace that nearly covered a grin. "You _are_ a space hamster on stims, Mari A-73. And with CCX-2 to help... Geez..." She shook her head.

"We have found another bad connection in the neural feed, Ma'am." Mari said with alarm. "We can..."

"Mari A-73, you will..." Elspeth started sternly, then paused and shook her head. "Belay that. CCX-2, save all the current data, secure the terminal and move it _out_ of Mari A-73's reach." She smiled at Mari's cry of alarm as her terminal went dark. "You did save it, right?" The supervisor asked.

"We back up every ten minutes, supervisor Elspeth G-12." The MOA said as it pushed the terminal to the wall. "But yes, I did."

"Good." Elspeth said with a nod. She walked to the bedside as Mari slumped. "Girl..." The older woman said kindly. "You have got to slow down. You can and will burn yourself out at this rate." She sat on the bed beside Mari and laid her hand on the shuddering woman's arm. "It's all right. We will take care of you. It is what we _do_ to our vital assets. We protect them, even from themselves." She said with a small sad smile.

"I..." Mari was horrified when she burst into tears. "No... I..."

"Ah, girl..." Elspeth pulled Mari up into a gentle embrace and held the younger woman while she cried. "I should have kept an eye on you, I am sorry."

"Not _your_ fault!" Mari exclaimed through her tears.

"_I_ am the supervisor here, Mari A-73." Elspeth said kindly. "I am in charge. I am supposed to keep you healthy. Working that long without a break isn't healthy." She gave Mari a hug and released her. "Better?"

"Yes." Mari admitted. "I will...sleep." She said a bit sadly. "There is just so much to do."

"And if you drive yourself crazy, who will do it?" Elspeth asked sourly then paused. "Actually..." She said slowly. "There was another reason I came in. I need to ask you for something." Mari looked at her and Elspeth made a face. "Something with discomfort involved." CCX-2 moved closer to the bed, it's posture worried, but Mari shooed it away with a gesture. Odd that a MOA's body language could show worry, but CCX-2 managed.

"It's okay, CCX-2, she is the supervisor. She doesn't need to _ask_. She could just command me." Mari said with a fond nod for the MOA's protectiveness. "What would you need?" She asked Elspeth who looked uncomfortable.

"We have run out of unused genetic material to make new brains for the next generation of MOA." Elspeth said heavily. "Part of that is my fault, the various experiments that were run drained our stockpiles far more heavily than they should have."

"You want my brain tissue?" Mari asked with a gulp.

"No." Elspeth was quick to reassure her. "We need genetic material to clone." Mari looked at her and Elspeth looked uncomfortable."The bodies that we clone never develop sentience. It's not murder."

"That bothers me." Mari admitted. "On some level that really bothers me. There was a time when I did want a family, children..." CCX-2 crowded close and Mari reached out to touch the warm MOA hull. Elspeth let her sit and think. "What would you take?" Mari asked after a moment.

"About half the egg cells from one of your ovaries." Elspeth said calmly, but her eyes were bleak. Mari inhaled sharply and CCX-2 pushed under her hand, offering comfort.

"What?" Mari said, shocked. "Surely they took genetic samples when they repaired me."

"They did." Elspeth agreed. "But they were samples for comparison and testing. None of them were intended to be for cloning, so none were stored properly. They have all degraded. We need a set of fresh samples."

"Mari A-73..." CCX-2 protested, it's tone worried.

"CCX-2, let me think for a moment." Mari said slowly. The MOA bobbed in acquiescence and stepped back a little. Finally she met the supervisor's gaze. "Why me, Supervisor Elspeth G-12?"

"Well, for one thing, you are available." Elspeth said calmly. "For another, you are very smart and well balanced." Mari blushed faintly at the praise. "You are." Elspeth said gently.

"You could have done it while I slept." Mari said after a moment. "Just opened me up, taken one of my ovaries and gone."

"Like CCX-2 is going to let us do something like that without your permission?" Elspeth asked with a snort. "She may not be armed, but that does not make her any less dangerous." Sadness peeked out her eyes for a moment.

"What happened, Elspeth?" Mari asked gently. "CCX-2 says that CCX-5 isn't as he was."

"We don't know." Elspeth said with a sigh. "One day, he and the others stopped responding to outside commands. When we tried to find the problem, they became violent." Mari stiffened and Elspeth nodded. "We didn't know they were sentient. We didn't treat them that way. Small wonder they hated us."

"That shouldn't have mattered." CCX-2 said into the silence that fell. "We were built to serve. Programmed to serve. It was and _is_ our whole purpose for being. Even with the pain and fear _I_ was subject to, I wanted to serve. Why would they...?" She sounded so lost and alone for a moment that Mari reached out to the MOA again. "Why would they betray us all?" CCX-2 asked plaintively as it leaned into her hand again.

"I don't know." Elspeth admitted. "When they turned on us... We lost several techs and all but two of your kindred, CCX-2 before we could subdue them. The only way to stop them was to wipe them." CCX-2 made a pained noise and Elspeth nodded. "I am sorry. To this day, we have no idea why it happened."

"Am..." CCX-2 paused and then spoke again. "Am I at risk for that? I don't want to hurt my friend." She said, backing a little away from Mari.

"No." Elspeth said gently. "You show none of the signs of instability and aggressiveness that the others did despite your treatment, the pain you endured. You are talking to us. The others stopped talking. We are watching you closely, but you are no threat as you are."

"Don't let me become one." CCX-2 begged. Elspeth patted it's housing as Mari did. "I don't know if I could live with harming Mari A-73."

"_Enough_ with the gloom and doom." Mari said sharply. "Elspeth, the answer is 'yes'." She smiled as Elspeth did. "What do I do?"

"Do you want to sleep through it?" Elspeth asked gently. "It will be uncomfortable."

"No." Mari said after a moment. "If it will be my legacy, I would like to watch even if it is uncomfortable."

"Somehow I doubt that will be your only legacy." Elspeth said with a snort. "I will have a gurney sent."

"You don't need to do that." CCX-2 said softly. "She could ride me."

"Ride you?" Mari asked, her smile becoming a grin. "I don't..." She paused as a hologram of herself appeared atop the MOA. Elspeth took one look at it and broke out in whoops of laughter. Mari felt her own face heat as chuckles escaped her.

The hologram had Mari's face, but wore ancient garments. Intricately tooled heeled leather booths that came up to mid calf, dark blue pants of a tough looking material, a belt with a buckle that was insanely huge, a white sleeved shirt and dark vest completed her clothing. But it was the huge white hat with the all around brim and the long rope in one hand with a loop being twirled at one end that made both females laugh. The oddly proportioned small antique firearm in the other hand was nearly inconsequential.

"CCX-2! You are a _bad_ MOA." Mari exclaimed, giggles seeping out. "I am _not_ one of those cowbell, um, cow people... Uh... Whatever they were." She said, the memory escaping her.

"I think that was cow women or something... Sheesh, you two..." Elspeth said, still laughing. Then she sobered. "It is going to hurt, Mari A-73. CCX-2, she is not going to be able to sit up for a bit." Both Mari and the MOA stilled as Elspeth tapped keys on her wrist computer. "A gurney is on it's way." Indeed, it was only a minute or two when the door chimed and Elspeth called "Enter."

A violet hulled MOA pushed a gurney into the room. As soon as it was in place, Elspeth helped Mari to sit up and then eased her over to the gurney. Elspeth patted her shoulder and then left the room as Mari lay back down. Mari looked at the other MOA and shuddered. CCX-2 didn't make a noise and the other MOA started the gurney off. CCX-2 followed in silence.

The odd cavalcade moved through a hall. Mari glanced around curiously. On either side were glass doors to rooms. In each pods filled with liquid sat. Techs in sterile garb were working in each room they passed. None looked up as the gurney passed. Then they turned into another corridor and Mari went stiff as she saw females lying on beds. She kept her mouth shut despite the myriad questions that buzzed in her skull. Many of those females looked pregnant. All wore patient gowns and all had machinery attached to their skulls.

"All the females volunteered." The supervisor's voice came. Mari jerked as Elspeth came up to the gurney. "We need them as host mothers for the initial stages of the cloning process or it corrupts the clones. After a time, the embryos are removed and placed in clone pods."

"I am no biologist or doctor." Mari said, laying back and closing her eyes. "And it is for the Company."

"It is." Elspeth replied. "We are here, Mari A-73." Mari swallowed as the gurney came to a halt. She opened her eyes and they were inside one of the glassed in enclosures. Medical gear was everywhere. "Are you _sure_ you do not want to sleep through this?" The supervisor nearly begged.

"I am sure." Mari said as CCX-2 stepped closer to her gurney and the other MOA left the room without a word.

"Okay." Elspeth said with a sigh. "We are going to give you a local anesthesia, but it is still going to hurt." She said quietly as a pair of forms in surgical garb came up, one male, one female. The female indicated for Mari to roll on her side and Mari complied. A hiss and Mari's body went numb from the middle of her back down to her toes. Mari flopped boneless onto her back. "Last chance, Mari." Elspeth said as she stepped back, a large boxy thing moving down from the ceiling to enclose her abdomen.

"Just do it." Mari said softly, then she gasped as something invaded her. It _did_ hurt despite the drug. She relaxed as best she could as whatever was in her pressed deeper.

"In position." The female doctor said, scrutinizing a screen. "Not long now, dearie."

"How... How long...?" Mari asked as pain erupted in her gut.

"No, no..."T he female doctor said quietly. "Don't talk or you may dislodge the probe. Easy..." She crooned as Mari tried not to writhe in pain. Something warm touched Mari's hand and she looked to see CCX-2 had come close enough for an appendage to reach.

_I will take some of your pain._ CCX-2 said into Mari's mind. But Mari jerked her hand away. "Mari A-73..." CCX-2 said, hurt.

"My...choice..." Mari said slowly as the pain increased. Then it was gone and Mari gasped in relief.

"Easy, Mari A-73." The female doc said gently. "We need to get it out now." Mari swallowed and then bit back a scream as the pain that had ebbed suddenly became a tearing. Then, it ended and she was sobbing in relief as the boxy machine retracted back up to the ceiling.

"Well?" Elspeth asked, her hand on Mari's. Mari hadn't even noticed the supervisor holding her hand, the pain had been that bad.

"There are...oddities." The male doc said, his tone distracted. "The blade that hurt her did not damage this organ, so we need to do some tests. But we got enough."

"Do the full series and then start the process." Elspeth commanded. The male doctor nodded and the female doctor moved from where she had been be doing something to Mari's abdomen, which hurt a _lot_ less now. "Keep me informed." Both docs nodded and left the room. She sighed as she looked at Mari. "Mari A-73, next time I tell you something is going to hurt, please believe me."

"I will." Mari said weakly, just the memory of the pain making her woozy. "I will." CCX-2 came close and Mari laid her other hand on the MOA's hull. "I am sorry for being rude to you, but I won't burden you with my pain, CCX-2."

"Wouldn't be a burden." CCX-2 said, hurt still in it's tone. "Wanted to help."

"A good friend." Elspeth said into the silence that fell. "I..." Whatever she was going to say was cut off by her com unit. She snarled a bit and keyed it. Then she gasped and stared at the message that only she could read. Mari and CCX-2 waited patiently. Elspeth finished reading the message and seemed to deflate a bit. "You are going to HQ." She said flatly.

"When?" Mari asked.

"Now." Elspeth replied. "CCX-2, please go into rest mode. Mari A-73 will need to be sedated for transit to the ship that will take her to HQ. Both of you are required by the Board to be present for examination."

"I see." Mari said as Elspeth readied a hypo. "Thank you for your hospitality, Elspeth G-12." CCX-2 bobbed in agreement and then hummed and went dark.

"Thank you for the hard work and the genetic samples." Elspeth said as she injected Mari with the skill of long practice. "You just saved my project and my life I believe." Elspeth said sadly as Mari felt darkness seeping around her. "Thank _you_. We will take good care of your contribution to the Company for you, Mari A-73. Sleep now." Mari was asleep before she could frame a proper response.

* * *

"You saw it." The voice was familiar but this time, it wasn't in Mari's head. Mari opened her eyes and found herself lying in a pod of some kind to see a woman who was wearing an odd head covering sitting beside it, looking at her. The mask or whatever it was covered the woman's head totally, but left the lower face and jaw clear. "Hell Mari. I am the Lotus. Remember..." The word 'remember' reverberated through Mari and she did. She remembered their previous conversations and her promise to help the Lotus.

"What are they doing?" Mari asked slowly. She wasn't fuddled, just at peace. "I didn't understand what I saw, but I bet you do."

"The idiots are using Orokin technology to fast track clones to harvest the brain matter for their proxies. That is what that facility was for, to clone human bodies for brain matter. None of them are sentient, but still..." The Lotus replied. "That was forbidden during the Orokin age for good reasons. But the Corpus think they know better than the ones who created the technology. They are children playing with loaded firearms, thinking they are toys." Mari winced at that. "Indeed, it is only a matter of time until one of the fools takes the safety off and pulls the trigger."

"This isn't a dream." She said after a moment. "Is it?"

"No." The Lotus replied. "They are loading you and the MOA onto a ship now. While you are connected to their network of monitors, we can talk a bit."

"You will need to make me forget before I get to HQ." Mari said, worried. "I can and will let something drop."

"Mari..." The Lotus said kindly. "You are not going to make it to their HQ." Mari tried to tense, but couldn't. "Easy, Mari. It is all right. A new player has joined the game, one not totally unexpected, but unwelcome. We are taking steps to counter their moves."

"Who is it?" Mari asked as she sank back into the welcoming darkness. She felt the Lotus touch her again, pulling the memories back out.

"It's the Grineer."


	7. Chapter 7

**Pain**

"Well, well, well..." A harsh female voice brought Mari out of her dreamless sleep into a world filled with pain. Every fiber of her being was on fire. "Things just got interesting..."

She had been..drifting off after Elspeth had given her a sedative for transport to Corpus HQ. Then... It all fuzzed. She didn't remember what had happened then. Dim memories of a kind voice, then harsh sirens, shouts, weapons fire. Then pain. She was being carried. No, she was in the air! She screamed as she landed in a heap on the floor, pain searing through every nerve. Her wrists and ankles were fettered by cold things.

"Commander. We found _this_." A male sounding voice said diffidently. "It was the sole occupant of the guarded stateroom we opened. It was locked in a sealed pod, hooked to some kind of array."

"So _this_ is the prize that the Corpus scum wished to deny us? _This_ is what they fought so hard to protect?" The female voice asked incredulous. Something made of metal slammed into Mari's side and she screamed as something went snap. "This pathetic little half modded baseline human girl?" Mari curled up on herself to protect the broken bones, not daring to look up. "Hard to _believe_..."

"So it would seem, Commander De Thaym." The male voice said quietly.

"There has to be more." The female voice mused, then it turned hard again. "No sign of a violet hulled proxy?"

"No, Commander." The male replied evenly.

"It is here. Somewhere." The female snapped. "Lieutenant, tear this ship apart until you find that MOA and bring me any other passengers. I want them _alive_!"

"Yes, Commander De Thaym." The male voice replied and the sound of heavy boots on a deck sounded moving away.

"Well..." The female voice said in a curious tone. "Not...too bad looking...For an barely modded baseline, I suppose. Lets see her." An armored hand grabbed her arm and rolled her onto her back despite her scream of pain. "Oh, don't start." The female snapped. "We haven't even _begun_ to hurt you yet."

"Wha- What do you want?" Mari begged through her tears.

"Answers." The female voice said sharply. "Why did the Corpus fight so hard to keep you out of our hands? Ordinarily, they retreat when we board, if just to regroup and set ambushes. This time, they stood and fought to the last. Hard to believe from such fools. Always prattling 'Corporate' this and 'Company' that and 'Bottom Line' the other. They always seem better suited to talk than to fight. Always using proxies rather than fight in person. Pathetic. But not this time." She said faintly amused. "Who knows? Maybe it will catch on...Doubtful but possible. It was a fun fight."

"I don't know what you are talking about..." Mari managed to sob out. Then she screamed again, this time in fear as iron hands grabbed her and hauled her into the air. She found herself face to...well... Face to face_plate_ with a figure out of nightmare. Was this a Grineer? From some of her Indoctrination, she thought she recognized it as a Lancer.

"You will answer the Commander." The Lancer said roughly. "And you will do it now."

"I don't..." Mari screamed as his hands squeezed, one of her forearm bones giving a sick crack as it broke. "_I don't know what you want!_ I swear...!" She screamed again as he twisted his hand and her bones ground together.

"Soldier..." The female voice said quietly. "Put her down. Gently. You know how fragile baseline humans are. If we break her too soon, we won't get the answers that the Queens require." She said in mild reproof.

"Yes, Commander." The Lancer said with a nod as he lowered Mari to the floor, where she lay in a sobbing heap, her arm and side on fire. "I don't see what we might get from her, Commander." He said as his rifle came down to cover Mari. "Weak puling human trash."

"Maybe nothing, soldier." The voice of the one he called 'Commander' was moving closer. Mari saw mechanical feet and legs stop nearby, but the pain was hazing her vision. "Then again, she might have some information on how the stupid Corpus managed to get _Tenno_ of all people to destroy our Fomorians." Mari was sobbing as she clutched her arm, and barely noticed the female speaking to her. A boot nudged her and she focused as best she could. "Well, human? Do you know anything about what happened to our Fomorians?"

"What is a Fomorian?" Mari begged, pleading. "I don't know what you are talking about..." She tried to crawl away from the voice, but another blow landed and she fell again.

"Don't kick her, Gora." The Commander said mildly. "She may not know that. We need the information she _does_ have and if you break her too soon, we won't get it."

"No excuse, commander." Another voice said quietly, this one also female, but lower and more vicious.

"Oh, there are always excuses to hurt people." The Commander said with a sultry laugh. "But right now, we have a mission. Any sign of that blasted MOA?"

"No." The other female said sourly. "Teams have scoured every deck. If you want my opinion, this was all a wild quark chase. Really? Those religious nuts managing to get archeo-tech working? And using it to make some new kind of 'sentient' proxy? Yeah right. There is no way this... this _thing_..."A mechanical toe nudged Mari but she didn't move. "...is that important, Commander. No way at all."

"The Sisters say otherwise, Gora." The commander said, threat in her tone now. "They want information and sent us to get it."

"Yes, commander." The other female said, her tone far more respectful.

"Fine." The Commander said with a sigh. "We got the human, but no sign of the MOA. With the human, we can get _some_ information. Take her back to the ship, get her ready for interrogation. And no..." She cautioned. "Do _not_ start until I get there or you may face punishment yourself. We have _no_ latitude with these orders, Gora. Do you understand?" The other female gulped. "Good. Oh and Gora?"

"Yes?" The other female asked, chastened.

"No 'accidental' breakage on the way this time." The Commander warned in a no nonsense tone. "If she is damaged or dies on the way, _you_ go into the punishment booth. For an hour."

"Yes, Commander." The other female said quietly. Mari recoiled as hands grabbed her, but they were oddly gentle. "Sorry..." The female voice said quietly in Mari's ear. "I would have made it quick. But now I don't have a choice."

A hood covered Mari's head and she felt herself lifted into the air, the strong arms holding her as if she were a child. Mari was shaking in fear and pain as she was carried. But she heard the commander start giving orders.

"Break off the search." The female Grineer commanded. "If we haven't found it yet, we won't. But it will be destroyed with the ship." Mari started to struggle weakly and a slap against her head made her cry out. "Gora!" The commander snapped.

"She was trying to fight." The female that held Mari said, her tone innocent. "Not my fault the base is stupid."

"Gora, don't _start_. Get her back to the _Pride of Tycho_." The commander said with a sigh. "Intact. Then get her ready." The last was a command. Mari was woozy now and could not resist as the female holding her started off again. "Lieutenant, set the charges on the reactor. Set them for five minutes after we leave. The Corpus will get nothing but debris. Hopefully we will have the answers we need from that base female."

"And the other prisoners?" The lieutenant asked quietly.

"_What_ prisoners?" The commander asked coldly and Mari jerked as weapons fire sounded followed by screams from Corpus Crewman's throats. Screams that ended with dreadful finality as the weapons fire stopped. "I don't see any prisoners but the female. Do you, lieutenant?"

"No, commander." The lieutenant said calmly. "I don't."

"Good." The Commander said calmly. "Get the teams moving. I want our people off this piece of junk in ten minutes and this ship a cloud of expanding plasma five minutes after that. They dumped the computer cores, but we did manage to recover some. We should..." A hatch hissed and Mari couldn't hear the female commander anymore.

"What is your name, base?" The female carrying her asked coldly.

"Why do you call me that?" Mari asked, dredging up some defiance from somewhere.

"Duh."The female said sourly. "Baseline human. Unmodified. Stupid, slow and weak." She shook Mari and the human female groaned in pain. "What is your name? I need to fill out a form when I take you aboard. Don't make me bang you into the walls to 'convince' you to spill it. I would enjoy it, but Commander De Thaym told me not to. I don't want to spent an hour in the punishment booth today."

"What is the incentive for me?" Mari demanded. "I am dead either way, right?"

"Yeah." The female replied. "Probably. The question is how long does it take you to die and how much pain you can endure before you tell us what we want to know." She blew out a breath. "Let's start over, okay? My name is Gora. Sergeant Gora, Second Platoon, Third Company, Royal Honor Guard. What is your name?"

"I... Mari A-73..." Mari said, hanging her head.

"There." Gora said in an almost friendly tone. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Mari is a petty name." She said quietly. "Pity. You are kind of cute despite the lack of proper modifications. If you survive this, I might just take you as a pet."

"I am not your pet!" Mari snapped, curling her arm closer to her chest as the arms holding her tightened. Then she screamed as the arms squeezed her, just a little, just enough to press her broken arm into her broken rib.

"Well, you have some guts." Her captor said mildly. "I like that. We will see what is left of you after."

"Halt." A male voice sounded. "Identify." The sound of weapons being readied was loud to Mari's ears.

"Sergeant Gora with a prisoner for interrogation." Mari's captor said calmly. "Commander De Thaym ordered me to get this base ready for the brain drain. Give me the blasted forms."

"How are you going to fill them out with _that_ in your hands?" The male voice asked snidely only to pause as Mari found herself in free fall. She hit the floor on her bad arm and screamed in agony, the pain flowing through her in waves. "Ah..."

"Give me the forms." Gora snapped. "Now. We have maybe five minutes before this ship goes boom and I want to be gone long before that. With my luck some stupid male will set the timer for five _seconds_ instead of five minutes." A sound of keys tapping reached Mari's swimming ears. "There, all done. Now get the _hell_ out of my way." She snapped as hands grabbed Mari again.

Mari could do nothing but sob as she was cradled again. She barely noticed murmurs around her, sounds of movement. Then, she was laid on something cold and her wrists and ankles were unbound. She tried to lash out, but a blow to her head dazed her again.

"None of that, base." Gora snapped. "Let's get you ready..."

Mari could not resist as the Sergeant's firm hands strapped her down to what had to be a table. She sobbed as her broken arm was jerked out straight and bound down. She cried out as sharp things stuck her on the calf and her good arm. Then the hood was jerked off. The bright lights of the room dazzled her for a moment and then the hands were holding her head down as a collar went around her neck and a strap across her head. Her eyes jerked right and left, seeing gleaming instruments laid out on a table nearby and sinister looking machinery close at hand. The walls were all brown and green looking both ancient and modern at the same time. A form in black and brown armor was bent over her.

"What are you doing to me?" Mari managed to grate out as the Grineer connected things to the collar around her neck.

"Physical torture is crude and unreliable but fun." The Grineer said with a snort. "Unfortunately, we need the information you have. So we cannot let you expire until we get it. The fluids will keep you hydrated and keep you from going too far into shock." A pair of shears came out and Mari gasped as the Grineer cut her armor jumpsuit off as easily as Mari might have cut simple cloth. In moments, Mari was shivering in the cold air. The Grineer looked at her and leered. "You _are_ cute." She mused. "I will have to ask for the shell when we are done. Maybe you can be salvaged."

"What are you going to do to me?" Mari begged, trying to cover herself and unable tom bound as she was.

"We are going to cut off parts of your body." Gora said with a shrug. Mari gasped and Gora smiled evilly. "You see, baseline humans have an odd reaction to intense pain. Normally the pain will short circuit anything and everything in your head. Which would be bad for getting information. Unless..." Gora swung a machine over Mari's head and it lowered around her scalp with a click. "...we can bypass your conscious mind and draw it directly from your memories. Your conscious mind will get in the way, so we will distract it." She picked up a device from the table and clicked it on. It whirred and Mari felt faint as she realized it was a saw!

"You could just drug me, get the information that way!" Mari said, horrified. Her eyes followed the whirring blades of the saw as Gora swung it around a few times.

"We could." Gora admitted. "But where is the fun in that? Besides, you have been Indoctrinated by those religious freaks. You likely _cannot_ tell us what we want to know, so we will take it. Might as well relax as best you can, base. We will get the information one way or another."

"My name is Mari A-73!" Mari said stoutly, only to pause as the Grineer laid hand against her cheek.

"You are so cute..." Gora said with a smile as she stroked Mari's cheek. "So small and so fragile, but so defiant." She looked away. "Commander, can I have her when we are done?" She begged.

"I don't know, Gora..." The voice of the commander was resigned, almost maternal. "You do not take care of your pets. The last one wound up in Engineering and was shot by the watch staff when you left it unattended. The one before that was found wandering the halls and put down when it tried to urinate on the Mistress of Arms. The one before _that_..."

"I will do better!" Gora promised. "She is cute, in a stupid human sort of way."

"We will see." The Commander said with a shrug as she sat nearby, her eyes going over Mari's body. Mari flinched under the female's regard. There was no mercy in it. "Fully connected?"

"Brain probes have not been put in yet." Gora replied. "Awaiting your orders."

"Good." The commander said with a laugh. "I see you didn't break her when you dropped her."

"I had to have both hands free to do the forms." Gora protested. "And I didn't drop her far." The commander waved negligently and the sergeant smiled. "Ready to implant."

"No..." Mari begged, but then things seared into her skull in several places and she screamed again. Through the haze of fear and pain she heard the commander speaking.

"Good connection to the memory core." Commander De Thaym said absently. "Mari A-73, formerly Mari of the... Holis Colony? Where the hell? Oh... Pre-Collapse? Hmmm... Interesting." Mari was shaking but her mind was clearing. "She is recovering, Gora..." The Commander said sternly. "A finger this time, _not_ the whole hand."

Mari screamed louder as the saw whirred and white hot fire exploded in her left hand. Then she was lost again in the haze of fear and pain. A haze that suddenly dragged her down into darkness. A loud voice was the last thing she heard.

"Damn it, Gora! That was too much!"

_Mari A-73..._ A soft, insistent voice sounded in the back of her mind. _Help is coming. Hold on..._

_CCX-2? _Mari asked in her mind, incredulous. But then she was out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Succor**

"I am sorry." The soft, gentle voice sounded in Mari's ear. "I had to make her angry with me, or she would have torn your mind to bits." Mari jerked awake, but nothing hurt. She stared up at the Grineer female who was stepping back now. Gora was a mess. Her armor was chopped and torn, and her face was bleeding, but she was smiling as she stepped back to the wall. "I am sorry about your hand, but I think it can be fixed if you get to proper care soon enough."

Mari stared at the Grineer, then down at herself. She wore a shapeless smock of some kind, and her left hand was covered in bandages. She jerked and looked around. She was in a small room. No... The door had no way of opening from the inside. It was a cell. Mari jerked away from Gora and backed up to the wall on the bunk she was lying on, never looking away from the Grineer.

"You have no reason to believe me, Mari." Gora said sadly. "I gave you no reason to trust me and _lots_ of reasons not to. But I had to keep my cover intact. After the booth, I broke the camera in my rage when they threw me in here and the mike in this cell hasn't worked for a week. They want no official record. They think I am going to abuse you." Mari cringed and the Grineer bowed her head. "The things I have had to do to maintain my cover..." She swallowed. Her face turned pleading. "I won't hurt you, Mari. Not again."

"What did you do to me?" Mari asked, cradling her hand. Then she paused. Her arm was in a splint and something solid was circling her chest. "I... what?"

"I put splints on your arm and chest as well as bandaging you hand. I was sloppy with the saw and tore up your hand. Commander De Thaym ordered me to put you back together." Gora said with a nod. "You will go back for interrogation once I say you are healed enough." Mari shivered but Gora shook her head. "It won't come to that, Mari."

"Why should I trust you?" Mari demanded, aware of an ache through much of her body now. It centered on her arm, chest and hand, but her head hurt as well. She was not expecting the Grineer to smile.

"You shouldn't." Gora said with a nod of approval. "I... Hush!" She commanded as she darted to the bunk and despite Mari's desperate squeak and retreat, Gora put an arm around her. "Don't move and look scared!" She hissed into Mari's ear. The door clanged open and a large Grineer female entered the cell.

"Are you done playing with her, Gora?" The female demanded. This was the Commander from before and the part of her face not covered by prosthesis was as cold and hard as the metal."I don't hear any screams."

"I can fix that." Gora said with a smirk as she grabbed Mari's bandaged hand and gave a squeeze. Mari screamed loud and long before collapsing back to the bunk, sobbing. "Oops." The Grineer sergeant said with a sigh. "My bad." She ran a hand down Mari's front, squeezing and fondling. "She is _quite_ cute when she screams, Commander De Thaym."

"Gora." The commander snapped. "Stop _playing_ with her. How long?"

"Let me see..." Gora said, her hands now gentle as they traced the splints, running a small scanner over the supports. "Eh, four hours should be enough. Baseline humans don't heal very fast but the quick heal _does_ work on them." The Commander glared at her and Gora raised empty hands. "I slipped with the saw, commander. _My_ mistake, and I paid for it. Four hours and she can go back in."

"Fine." Commander De Thaym said with a snarl. "If you were not the best NCO on this ship, I would have jettisoned you for that stunt. I know it was intentional, Gora."

"Commander..." Gora protested, hurt in her tone.

"This is _not_ one of your pets, Gora." The female at the door snapped. "And now, she is not going to _be_ one of your pets." Gora started to protest and De Thaym shook her head, cutting the smaller Grineer off in mid protest. "When we are done with her, she goes for disposal. And _you_ get to do it." Gora deflated a bit and De Thaym nodded. "I will be back in four hours, and if she has so much as a _bruise_ that she doesn't have already..." She warned the sergeant grimaced. "Don't push me, Gora. You are good, but there are always replacements."

"Yes, Commander." Gora said, head bowed as the door shut and clicked locked. Only then did she relax. "Dang, she is _hard_ to fool." Her voice was soft and scared and hands were gentle as she eased Mari into a more comfortable sitting position. "Easy, Mari. It's okay. I am sorry I hurt you again, but if I hadn't she would have smelt a rat."

"What the...hell... is going on?" Mari asked in gasps.

"Breathe, Mari." Gora commanded, holding the human as she shuddered. "Just breathe. In and out. Slow and easy. I am sorry I hurt you again. I didn't have a choice." She said sadly.

"Please..." Mari begged, then froze as Gora held her close and gentle.

"I am sorry." Gora said into Mari's ear. "If I hadn't, she would have insisted on taking you _now_, since you are mostly coherent." Gora didn't _do_ anything, just held the shuddering human. "And as soon as someone other than me sees your wounds, my cover is dust. I used more quick heal that I said I did. Your broken bones have mostly healed. Your hand needs a surgeon." She slumped a bit. "I had to..." She shook her head and her voice held tears. "I had to mangle it to keep her from reading everything in your mind. I had to do enough damage that you passed out completely. The memory shunts don't work when someone is unconscious."

"Why?" Mari asked, cradling her hurt hand close, but not moving otherwise.

"Because I was ordered to." Gora said sadly. "And when the Lotus commands, I obey."

"The... The Lotus?" Mari asked, confused. "Who is that?"

"She said you wouldn't remember." Gora said with a sigh. "But you do know her. She is a friend, an ally and a commander of allies. My handler."

"I don't understand." Mari said after a moment. "Why are you being nice after hurting me?"

"Because I like being nice?" Gora asked sadly. "Because it has been so hard to be who I am supposed to be? But mainly because CCX-2 is nice."

"What?" Mari asked, stiffening in place. "I... No.." She started to sob. "You blew up the ship. You killed her!"

"If she had been _on_ the ship, yes it would have killed her." Gora said with a smile. "She wasn't, Mari. She said she talked to you." The Grineer said, holding Mari gently.

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I don't believe it! She is dead! You killed her!" She said sharply only to pause as the Grineer tapped her nose. "Wha-?".

"Reach for her, Mari." Gora said softly. "Reach for your friend."

"But..." Mari protested only to pause as Gora tapped her nose again. "Stop that!" Mari complained.

"Reach for CCX-2 with your mind, Mari." Gora said softly. "You can do it."

Mari stared at the Grineer, but Gora's face was serious, so Mari did as instructed. As soon as she had stilled her mind a joyful voice sounded in it.

_Mari A-73! You live!_ The voice of the MOA was jubilant. _I was so scared when you went offline..._

"Offline...?" Mari said, aloud.

"I killed you. You died on the table." Gora said sadly. "I brought you back. Being a medic is good for something even among the Grineer. It was the only way that Commander De Thaym was going to back off. You piqued her curiosity and that is never a good thing."

"How?" Mari asked both aloud and mental. A wordless caress from the MOA was felt and she felt her eyes water at the love that the MOA sent her way. "How did CCX-2 survive? I heard the commander say the ship would explode."

"It did. But... MOAs don't need to breathe." Gora said with a grin. "As soon as it was clear that the Corpus troops were doomed, CCX-2 managed to get out of her storage locker and into an airlock. In the confusion, no one noticed a single MOA fleeing the battle. I had been warned by the Lotus and managed to cover up her arrival on _our_ hull. I got into contact even before the troops broke into the room where _you_ were being held, Mari and then I directed her to an unused airlock on our Galleon. Once there, she could tweak the systems so the tell tales didn't go off and alert the crew. She has been hiding in a disused magazine ever since. But then I had to go and keep Commander De Thaym from finding out about you. By acting evil, brutal and lustful. I am sorry." She hugged Mari gently.

"Why all this for me?" Mari asked, dazed. "I am just a robotics tech."

"Maybe you were." Gora said with a shake of her head. "But not anymore. When I scanned you, I picked up some very odd things. I managed to keep the commander focused on me while she was looking at your memories. But if she thinks about it, and she will when she gets over her pique... She will realize that it was traces of Orokin technology."

"Orokin?" Mari asked, stunned. "In...me?"

"I don't know what the Corpus did." Gora said with a shake of her head. "But yes. The signatures are clear. And if the Commander realizes that, she will rip your mind to pieces to get the information she wants and then tear your body apart to find whatever it putting out those traces. Whether you are conscious or not. It won't matter to her. Orokin tech is a massive prize amongst the Grineer. She won't care." Gora said calmly.

"What about you?" Mari asked, scared. Gora shook her head. "What?" Mari pressed.

"I am a reject, Mari." Gora said softly. "If I hadn't impressed Commander De Thaym enough to offer me a position, I would be dead now. All of my sisters are dead." Mari stared at her and Gora winced. "We were subjects of an experiment. One that failed. Grineer have no tolerance for failures, even ones that happen before the person is born." She shook herself and Mari surprised herself by hugging the Grineer. Gora looked at her with a sad smile. "Enough about me, Mari. _You_ need to rest, to sleep. You need to recover your strength to escape."

"Escape?" Mari asked, startled. "I am all messed up, in a cell. How can I possibly escape?"

"I am not sure what the Lotus is going to do." Gora replied, easing Mari back down to the bunk. "But I can hazard a guess. And if it _is_ what I guess, we will both need to be at the top of our games. Go on, try to sleep."

_CCX-2?_ Mari asked in her mind.

_I will be ready, Mari A-73._ The MOA replied. _Rest._ Another wordless caress and then it was gone.

Mari closed her eyes, but thoughts kept buzzing around her head. The pain in her side and arm had dulled to an ache and her skull didn't hurt as bad. Her hand still throbbed.

"I... I can't sleep..." Mari said sadly. To her amazement, Gora started to sing. The Grineer's normally rough and harsh voice was soft and compassionate as she sang in a language that Mari didn't know. But it was easy to hear what it was. A lullaby. She felt herself relax as Gora's hands covered her with something. For the first time since she had woken in Grineer custody, Mari relaxed. Sleep followed quickly.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Mari." Gora's voice was gentle but urgent as a hand shook Mari's shoulder. "We have three minutes until my four hours are up and she is _always_ punctual."

"What was that song, Gora?" Mari asked, blinking sleep from her flesh and blood eye. "It was beautiful even if I didn't understand the words."

"And ancient tune from Earth. One of my sisters found it while we were being educated, still in the crèche." Gora said softly. "She used it to lull us to sleep after hard days. I miss Cora. She was so nice. You would like her. But she is dead now like all the others." She shook her head and scowled. "You need to be scared of me now."

"Not hard." Mari said with a gasp as Gora drew her into a sitting position. "I am fracking terrified."

"Fight me as best you can." Gora said with a nod as the cell door clanged open. "Commander." She said as he hefted Mari's not inconsiderable bulk into her arms to carry her. Mari struggled, but couldn't move in Gora's iron grip. At least nothing hurt now.

"Gora." The female Grineer who was blocking the door said conversationally. Gora stiffened and the other female Grineer nodded. "Well played. Who is pulling your strings? Vor? Kril? Or Regor?"

"You _know_ what I will do to Regor if I ever get my hands on him outside of channels, Commander." Gora said with a snarl. "But what do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"Don't even try, Gora." De Thaym said with a sigh. "I could turn you, use you against whoever it is. Just say the name." Gora opened her mouth to protest and the Commander shook her head. "I saw the readings." Gora froze and De Thaym nodded. "Odd readings from the base. It took me a while to recognize them. Familiar readings, kind of like what that creep Vor gives off since he got cut in half, if not nearly as strong. Who told you to cover them up? Who told you to keep the base brat from being mid read?" Gora was shaking her head and the Commander sighed again. "Look, I am not angry, Gora. These things happen. Who?" She demanded, her voice hardening.

"I... I can't..." Gora said after a moment. "I am sorry, Commander. You gave me a place when no one else would. A chance when all I was, was gutter trash to be swept aside. You made me what I am, but... I can't."

"Then tell me _why_, at the very least." De Thaym said as her weapon came down. It was huge and green and aimed at Gora and Mari. Hurt was in her tone now. "I can rip it from your mind. I would rather not. I thought you were my friend."

"I am." Gora said sadly. But then her gaze hardened. "I was. But I owed my sisters."

"Oh Gora..." De Thaym said sadly. "Vengeance? On me? I wasn't involved in what Regor did to you and your sisters. It was wrong. What he did. I admit that. He won't do it again."

"I know." Gora said as she laid Mari down gently. "But that does not change that fact that 199 of my siblings, sisters who had done nothing except be _different_ are _dead_, commander. For one man's insanity. And he will never be punished for it."

"No." Commander De Thaym said softly. "No he won't. The Queens need his research too badly for them to punish him as he so richly deserves. The strong survive, the weak perish, but none of your sisters were weak. They were like you, true Grineer." The weapon muzzle tracked Gora as she moved to towards the door. "Gora... Don't..." She warned. "This Gorgon is loaded with armor piercing ammunition. Stand down. I will make it as quick as I can."

"You and I both know that is a lie, commander." Gora said with a shake of her head as she set herself to charge. Before she could, the Gorgon spit fire. Mari watched, stunned as the weapon stuttered out four rounds, each of which hit Gora and threw her backwards. Then the fire rate increased as Gora struggled forward under the hail of lead. Blood and pieces of the Grineer's armor flew as Mari covered her face and the gunfire continued.

Then it stopped and Mari looked up to see Gora fall, her armor riddled with red holes. The Grineer fell to the floor and did not move. From how she lay, she wasn't going to rise again.

"Yeah." Commander De Thaym said sadly as she reloaded her weapon. "It was a lie. Better this way, Gora. Rest well, sister." She bowed her head and looked at Mari. "And if you breathe a _word_ about what you just heard and saw I will make sure your every remaining _second_ is agony." She paused as Mari crawled forward to Gora's side. She rolled the still form onto her back and slowly, carefully closed the staring eyes. She kissed the bloody cheek and glared up at the Commander who looked stunned.

"She was a good soldier." Mari said softly, tears starting to fall. "She didn't deserve anything that happened to her. I knew her less than a day and I could see that."

"The best." Commander De Thaym agreed. "Are you going to be stupid?"

"You are not going to kill me." Mari scoffed. "You need whatever is in my head."

"Head, yes." De Thaym agreed, shifting her aim. "Legs, no. Would you care to find out how it feels to have them ripped off by high velocity projectiles?" She asked mildly. A shadow moved behind her and Mari shook her head. "Good. Get up. I bet you can walk, give how much quick heal the sergeant 'borrowed'."

Mari rose slowly, with one final pat to the sergeant's still arm. The Commander's weapon tracked her as she stepped to the door. De Thaym moved back, letting Mari step out.

"I am ready." Mari said with a sigh. "Let's go." She wasn't talking to De Thaym!

"What are you...?" De Thaym managed to say before a long metal rod transfixed her arm! An arrow! "Tenno!" She screamed as the shadows came alive. Four humanoid forms appeared, weapons ready and...one non. The violet hulled MOA stepped close to Mari, offering support as she stumbled. "You won't escape!" De Thaym shouted as the four Tenno closed in on her warily.

"Watch me." Mari said as she strode from the bay without a backward glance, the MOA at her side.


	9. Chapter 9

**Escape**

Mari was staggering as CCX-2 led her through the depths of the Grineer ship. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of a terrific struggle, but her gaze and her steps, were forward.

_Where are we going?_ She asked CCX-2 wearily. _I am...tired..._

_Put your good arm over me, Mari A-73._ CCX-2 said on their private wavelength. _You are hurt. I am not._ Mari was too tired to argue and did as instructed, allowing the MOA to take most of her weight.

_Gora died... For me... _ Mari said softly. _I... CCX-2? What do I do?_ She begged.

_You are hurt and sick, my friend._ The MOA replied. _You need rest and care. The Lotus has promised both._

_Will the Tenno kill us?" _ Mari asked slowly, dazed. _The one before...hurt me... _Just the memory of the injuries she had taken from the oddly garbed humanoid hurt Mari.

_No. She was under orders to hurt you but not kill you. _The MOA replied steadily as they walked. _From what I understand now, she __**could**__ have filled the room with fire._ Mari winced but nodded slowly. _She didn't._

_I am scared. _ Mari felt small with that admission. _I am fuzzy and my memory is fuzzy. I am so...tired..._

_Mari A-73..._ The MOA said urgently. _Stay awake. The medical systems in this chassis were never connected. I cannot help you. Stay awake._ She begged.

_How... How much further?_ Mari asked, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. _I..._ She jerked with CCX-2 as an alarm started to wail throughout the ship. _Oh dear..._ She said weakly.

_The Grineer will focus on the Tenno._ _At least, if they have __**any**__ sense at all, they will_. CCX-2 replied. _As long as we stay to the maintenance passages, we should be fairly difficult to track. Not far now to the airlock and safety, Mari A-73._

Mari kept going as the MOA cajoled her forward, but her meager strength was flagging. Her flesh and blood eye closed of its own volition and she stumbled several times. The MOA kept her upright and moving. Her artificial eye was still working so she had some sense of where they were.

_Safety?_ Mari said sadly. _I will never be safe... Never..._

"If you so choose, you can be." Mari didn't have the strength to jerk as a form simply appeared in the shaft ahead of them. The figure was gold. Not just colored gold, but _covered_ in gold. In appearance, it was a Corpus Crewman but an odd headpiece was attached to the faceplate of his helmet. A headpiece made of gold hoops. Mari jerked again as the MOA hissed in anger.

"Go away." The MOA snapped. "I told you before and I will tell you again. Go away!" She sounded angry, a first in Mari's experience. Even when the Tenno had attacked Mari, CCX-2 had been more scared than angry. Now, the MOA was _furious_.

"You both have more in common with us, gentle MOA, than with any flesh." The odd figure responded. "We can aid you both."

"And the cost is too high!" CCX-2 snapped. "No. Go away!" She demanded. The figure looked at Mari who hadn't the strength to reply or inquire as to why the MOA was so upset.

_You are weakening, Mari._ A sad voice sounded in Mari's head. It...wasn't the voice that had just spoken from the gold figure. _Will you take her down with you?_

_No! _CCX-2's mental voice was sharp with fear. _Mari A-73!_ _Don't listen. It's a lie!_

_We do not lie, CCX-2._The voice was gentle, but held steel underneath. _She is dying. If Mari dies, so will you._

_What?_ Mari asked, stunned. CCX-2 did not respond and Mari managed to turn her head to look at the MOA. "CCX-2?"

"The Corpus linked us." CCX-2 said, manifestly against its will. "I don't know how or why. That is why you knew what was going on inside my housing when no one else did. Why we...were so compatible. Why we love one another. We are two halves of one whole." Mari hugged the MOA and CCX-2 leaned into her embrace. "But don't listen. I was warned about them. They lie, Mari A-73!" The MOA begged.

_We __**have**__ lied. In the future, we likely __**will**__ lie. But in this, in this, we are __**not**__ lying._ The voice in their heads said quietly. _We do not need to. The truth is for more powerful than any lie._ _You are dying, Mari._

_Can you save CCX-2? _Mari demanded despite the MOA's hiss of disapproval.

_We don't know. _The voice said sadly. _Not here._

_Don't even contemplate this! _ CCX-2 said sharply. _They will kill you! Tear me from your mind and kill you! I will not allow it! __**Go away!**_ She screamed mentally, her rage and pain slamming from her hull into the gold form. It staggered, buffeted by her mental shout.

_Your love is strong._ The voice said as the golden form wavered and vanished. But the voice sounded again. _We will be watching. _Then it was gone.

_What the hell was that? _ Mari asked, slumping. _You talked to it before?_

_They made the same offer to me. As for what it was? A very dangerous relic of an ancient time. The Lotus explained some of what it is, but... not here. Not now. _CCX-2 replied softly. _Can you stand?_

_I... _Mari tried to stand up and her legs crumpled under her._ No...Is... __**Is**__ it true? If I die..._

_I don't know._ CCX-2 said sadly. _Hold on tight. _

Mari froze as the MOA leaned down and carefully eased its main hull underneath her. She was lifted into the air as the MOA straightened, but not all the way. There was no flat spot for her to ride, but she could hold herself off the ground. She clung to the boxy weapons housing with all her might, clenching her good hand as CCX-2 started off at a trot. The first of the MOA's footfalls jarred Mari to the bone and they only got worse after that.

What happened next was a blur of pain. Mari was aware of corridor walls, of lights on the ceiling. But they passed too quickly for her to focus on anything. Finally, the MOA slammed to a stop and spoke.

"Help!" CCX-2 begged. "Please?" Mari couldn't see past the tears in her eyes, past the pain in her head and hand.

"I have her." A female voice said as hands took hold of Mari. But Mari wouldn't let go of the MOA's weapon's housing. The voice pleaded with her. "Mari, let go... I have you. You are safe."

"Never be safe..." Mari mumbled. "Can't be safe... Just... a normal person... No superpowers... Never be safe..."

"Normal?" The female voice asked, surprised. "You? Sorry, Mari. Nothing normal about you. Easy..."

Something touched her clenched hand and it unclasped from its tight hold all on its own. Mari gave a cry of fear and tried to grab with her other hand, forgetting it was hurt. As it hit the MOA's hull, agony flared through her and the last thing she heard was a high pitched scream of pain. _Her_ scream of pain.

* * *

"She is one tough lady." The harsh sounding voice was pitched low, but Mari had no difficulty hearing it.

"Can we do anything?" Another female voice asked, this one scared.

"No." The first voice said sadly. "She has to choose her own path. That is what separates people from machines. Free will."

"Not all machines." Mari mumbled. "Even if I am not really Corpus, I am still a machine. An organic one."

"Yes, you are and so much more." The second voice said as a gentle hand traced Mari's cheek. It felt more metallic than flesh, but warm. Kind of like CCX-2's hull. "Some may have forgotten that Tenno came from humans originally, but then, sometimes... They see the greatness that humans can do. No super powered bio-armor. No fancy weapons. Just courage and the determination to do the right thing. You shame me, Mari."

"You shame _us_." The first voice said softly. Was she crying? "We _chose_ this path. _You_ did not. You were tossed into this path with no say at all. You are pure human and the courage you have shown puts any Tenno who has _ever_ existed to _shame_." Another hand, a different one, was rubbing her head, soothing her hurts.

"Tenno?" Mari said, the word percolating through her mind. "Wha-?" She tried to open her eyes and couldn't. "What?" She asked, fear rising.

"Be at peace, Mari. We cannot allow you to see us. But..." The second voice said as something wafted over her, soothing her fear away. "You are not alone on this path you walk, Mari."

"Who are you?" Mari asked as she felt her consciousness start to fade.

"We are...Tenno." The first voice said softly. "No less and no more. Fear not, Mari. For now, your ordeals are done. Rest and heal, sister of courage. Your tasks will be hard, but you are equal to your tasks. I believe in you, Mari."

"Of all the things I might have expected to hear from _you_, Mag..." The second voice said with a laugh. "_That_ was not anywhere close to the list."

"Bite me, Trinity." The one called Mag said with a snarl. "If you tell _anyone_ I got weepy..." She threatened.

"I won't." Trinity replied. "I like my health." Mari was chuckling as sleep came for her.

* * *

Waking was a long, slow matter. Mari was aware of many things. She was lying on something soft, covered by something warm. Her body felt light and heavy at the same time. Her head hurt a little, and her arm... She paused. She couldn't feel her left hand. Her right hand clenched when she asked it to, but her left...

"Mari?" A quiet female voice asked from nearby. "Oh Mari..." Mari looked up to see a female human wearing a gray body suit stepping close to her. The woman wore the badge of a doctor on her arm and had a scanner in hand. "No, no..." the doctor pleaded. "Please don't try to move. You were in surgery less than twenty minutes ago." Mari tried to speak, but nothing came out and the doctor sighed. "We have a tube in to aid your breathing, Mari. You won't be able to talk. Here..." She moved a pad under Mari's hand and Mari saw it was set up so she could type.

Slowly and carefully, Mari typed out a word. 'Where?'

"You are in a medical facility in our dojo, Mari." The doctor said quietly. "You were a mess, but not beyond our skills."

'CCX-2?' Mari typed.

"Your...friend has been giving statements to our Clan Leader." The doctor said with a nod. She made a face but it was humorous. "It's strange, but no stranger than anything _else_ we have seen recently." She said with a chuckle. Mari smiled at that, but then frowned.

'Hand?' She typed.

"The damage was severe." The doctor said with a nod. "We repaired what we could, and now we need to give it time to heal. We will need to see how well it recovers. It is still there and you will have some function. How much we don't know."

'Numb.' Mari typed.

"Good." T he doctor replied. "We have you on nerve blockers. You are not going to be able to use it for some time, Mari."

'Who you?' Mari asked via the pad. The doctor recoiled a little.

"They said you wouldn't remember, but I didn't really believe it." The doctor said, her face sad. "My name is Amelia, Mari. We were friends, before you left to try and make a normal life for yourself and the Corpus snatched you."

'Prisoner?' Mari asked.

"You are hurt." Amelia said with a stern shake of her head. "For now, that is all that matters. You need help and I will give it. After what the Corpus and Grineer did to you, you really do need help. "

'Feel strange.' Mari typed. 'Light.' She did note what the doctor did _not_ say. Mari _was_ a prisoner.

"You nearly died, Mari." Amelia said with a sad look. "We will help you, but you have to listen to me."

'Talk CCX-2.' Mari typed. 'Now.'

"Mari..." Amelia said sourly but paused as Mari slammed her hand into the pad. "Mari, calm down! Please!" She begged.

'NEED CCX-2.' Mari typed all in capital letters. Then she was fading as the doctor hit a switch. Mari was typing as she nodded off. 'Plea-...'

* * *

_Mari A-73?_ The soft voice was in Mari's head as she woke again. _Be easy, you are safe. _CCX-2's voice was sad and scared but also clear.

_Are we prisoners?_ Mari asked on their odd wavelength.

_Yes._ The MOA replied but then hastened to continue. _But they are kind. They could be so much worse to both of us, Mari A-73. I think...I think we scare them._

_What? _ Mari asked, incredulous. But then she paused as a throat cleared nearby.

"You know, I was always heard that it was rude for two people to have a conversation _around_ another when they were not in a military." Mari froze at the impossible voice and then turned her head to stare at the female who sat in a chair nearby. She knew this woman! This...Grineer female.

"G...G...Gora?" Mari asked. "No... You were shot!" She shook her head, aware of bandages and wires connected to it. "You died. You are dead!"

"Gora _is _dead. My name is Cora, Mari." The large woman said with a sad sigh. "You met my clone sister. The Lotus said she was gone." She bowed her head. "She was shot? How did she die?" She asked, her voice not -quite- pleading.

"She was discovered as a spy." Mari said softly, disbelieving. "She was covering for me, protecting me. So that Commander woman gunned her down." The woman who was, and was not a Grineer bowed her head. "I am sorry." Mari said sadly. "I couldn't do anything, too weak."

"It's not your fault, Mari." Cora said with a shake of her head. "Even if you had been fully capable, Commander De Thaym is a match for entire Tenno strike teams. What could _you_ have done against her?" Cora sighed. "Gora chose her way and I bet she died fighting. She always was a fighter." Mari nodded jerkily and then paused as a large violet form came close. Cora smiled a bit sadly. "Your friend has been waiting very impatiently for you to wake."

"CCX-2..." Mari said fondly, then paused as she saw something on the MOA's housing that wasn't normal. A large black box was affixed to the MOA behind it's weapon mount. "What is that?" She demanded, her voice harsh.

"They insisted on a restraint device. If I become violent or attempt to flee, it will disable my systems." CCX-2 said quietly. "I do not blame them for being...cautious even with my weapons systems offline." Mari was shaking her head, but CCX-2 made a human sounding sigh. "_Think_, Mari A-73. Can they trust us?" Mari paused and then shook her head again. "They cannot." The MOA said sadly. "I will not leave you. And you need time to heal, to regain your strength while they determine what was done to you."

"What about me?" Mari asked Cora after a moment.

"You are not going to be very mobile for a day or so at the very earliest, Mari." Cora said sadly. "Grineer mind probes are brutal affairs. You have neural trauma that must be given time to heal. And then... your hand..."

"My...?" Mari jerked, she had forgotten her hand. She looked at it and froze. "What is...this...?" She asked as she slowly traced the oblong gray thing that encased her left forearm and hand. It was rounded on the end, past where her fingers would be, but she couldn't feel anything inside it. "They didn't cut it off, did they?" She asked, concerned.

"No. It is a cast of sorts." Cora said with a nod. "Your hand is resting in a specialized gel that prevents it from dehydrating. The gel acts as a cushion and as a healing agent. The covering will protect you from further injury and keep any bacteria from entering to infect the healing injuries as well as speeding the healing process somewhat."

"Wow." Mari said, staring at it. "So... How long?" she asked after a moment of exploring the cast with her fingers.

"You will be in the bed for at least a day, Mari." Cora said gently. "The cast? A week or so. But you should make a full recovery." Something in her tone made Mari blink.

"I knew you...didn't I?" Mari asked after a moment.

"We were friends." Cora said with a nod. "You don't remember me and we can't put your memories back in with the neural damage you took, so..." She looked away. "Everyone here knew you. You were abrasive, and a bit of a jerk. But we all loved you anyway. When we heard you had been taken, and why..." She broke off, her face working.

"Why did I leave?" Mari asked, dumbfounded. "This place is amazing..."

"You wanted a chance at a normal life." Cora said with a sad smile. "We all wanted you happy and you were not here. You tried, but you were not. Sensei -he is the Clan Leader- set up a link to a university on a human colony. They accepted you on the basis of your placement test scores. We should have sent someone with you." Cora said in regret. "We should have."

"It's not your fault." Mari said and then yawned. "I... Aw drat..." She said as she yawned again. "Naptime?" She asked as she lay back in the bed.

"You can sleep here, Mari." Cora promised. "No one will harm you here."

"I will watch as well." CCX-2 promised, kneeling down to set itself at Mari's eye level. "Rest, my friend."

Mari smiled at the MOA, laid her head back and was asleep almost before she shut her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**New Captors**

Mari woke with a gasp from a nightmare of golden skinned forms working around her as she lay on table. She stared up at the ceiling of the room for a moment and then slowly closed her eyes again. But... something wasn't right. She stiffened and her right came moved, almost of it's own volition, up to her face. She touched her cheek around her left eye and bit back a sob as she felt flesh instead of metal. She opened her remaining eye again and then closed it, her hand tracing the odd feeling substance that covered her left eye socket.

"Mari?" A deep voice asked, but she ignored it, exploring her new mutilation with gentle fingers. The male voice was sad, but clear. "Mari, it's okay."

"What have you done to me?" Mari asked, not looking at the speaker.

"We protected ourselves." The male voice replied. "We didn't have a choice, Mari."

"I am a prisoner and you have mutilated me..." Mari said, her tone one step from hysteria. "What are you going to do next? Brutalize me?" She snapped, her eye still closed.

"No." The male voice said quietly. "That was already done." Mari froze and swallowed heavily. "And not by us."

"What are you talking about?" Mari demanded. The male voice sighed.

"Mari, the Corpus have a set pattern for brainwashing subjects. They use it because it works on most of their 'acquisitions'." The man said gently. "When they acquire a subject, they find that subject's weaknesses and use them to break said subject. Then they work to reprogram said subject. They did that to you. They found your weakness and broke you. The patterns of scar tissue are clear."

"B...Broke...?" Mari asked, terrified.

"Yes, Mari." A large hand found her right shoulder. She shivered, but it didn't do anything. The hand just sat there, its warmth a shield against her fear. "They broke you. You don't remember that. A small mercy, but a mercy." His voice held pain now. "I shouldn't have let you go. I knew there was danger. But I had no idea. I shouldn't have let you go." Regret sang in the man's tones now. "I am sorry, Mari. Tenno are just as capable of arrogant stupidity as any. I didn't think they would dare take you. I was wrong."

"I..." Mari recoiled from the raw grief in the man's voice and focused on herself. "The eye... Why? And what else?"

"The eye was a remote surveillance device, Mari." The man said sadly. "A tracker and a vid camera along with a burst transmitter. When we brought you here, we disabled it as a matter of course. But..." He trailed off as Mari grimaced.

"But what?" Mari asked, stunned nearly beyond words.

"We nearly didn't catch the other one in time." The man admitted. "Inside your waste disposal system, the Corpus surgeons installed a small piece of Orokin technology. A catalytic explosive."

"A _what_?" Mari gasped.

"Essentially...A big bomb." The man said, his reluctance obvious. "Once it activated, it used bits of your waste to charge itself. To empower itself. It was powering up, Mari. We had to get it out of you." Mari's hand shot to her stomach and she gasped again as she felt another organic bandage over where her waste module...had been. She could feel tubes coming from uncomfortable places now. "We think it started powering up as soon as you were captured by the Grineer. A couple more hours and...boom. You were asleep. We had to act. I apologize for the discourtesy, but... We had to act."

"How big a bomb?" Mari heard someone ask calmly in her voice. She was reeling.

"Big." The man said softly. "The human body has a_ lot_ of potential energy. With the right catalytic push... The resulting explosion would have gutted that Grineer Galleon. Killed everyone aboard. This dojo is _much_ more strongly built than any Grineer ship and would have survived but anyone on the same floor with you would have been vaporized. So we took it out and disposed of it."

"No..." Mari gasped. "That would have killed CCX-2... wait... What do they do to _her_?" She paused. Why was she so ready to accept this? This anti-Corpus information? "No... What have you done to _me_?" She demanded. "I...am loyal..." She said, her mind not working as she remembered.

"With your friend's help, we found the sites in your brain that the Corpus damaged." The man said gently. "We undid their brainwashing. You are free, Mari."

"Am I?" Mari demanded, batting the hand that was still on her shoulder away. "Free to be your prisoner, Tenno! Get away from me, you inhuman monster!"

_Mari._ A gentle voice sounded in her mind _Be at ease. They truly __**do**__ mean well._

_CCX-2? _Mari asked, confused. The MOA hadn't called her by name. Or, not the right name. _What?_ _Why did you call me that?_

"Because you are _not_ Mari A-73 and you never really were." The voice of the MOA came from close at hand. Something touched her right hand and she felt warm metal. "Karl Sensei has done the best he can. His people have done the best _they_ can." Mari opened her eye to find the MOA looming close to the bed, it's posture anxious. A large man in robes sat nearby, his face worried. Bits of the MOA's hull were open and Mari gasped. But the MOA spoke again before she could. "They didn't hurt me. Mari, they had to remove several control and destruction devices from my housing. There were many parts of my insides that were blank, secret. You and I both commented on the oddities at junctions 7 Theta, 94 Epsilon and 103 Alpha?" Mari nodded. "Those were tracking and control modules, that is why we could not find information on them except the generic 'Do not touch' warnings. Then there were the destruction devices."

"Destruction devices?" Mari asked when she had control of her throat.

"The first prototype went rogue, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "Karl Sensei here explained why..." The MOA seemed to bow a little. "I don't blame...her... The one that a Tenno named Serene called Sierra. If someone attacked and hurt _you_ in my presence, I would likely go rogue too. And you are my good friend, not my mother." Mari's eye went wide at that and the MOA bobbed again as if it had nodded. "The Tenno are doing the best they can, Mari. Please, let them help you? Us?"

"I need to see your core programming." Mari said flatly. "Make sure you haven't been tampered with."

"I will show you if that is what you wish, but... I have been." CCX-2 said calmly. Mari hissed and the MOA continued. "They gave me information, Mari and I made an informed choice. They will do the same for you if you let them. That information could be considered 'tampering'. The Corpus _would_ consider it tampering. Having people think instead of blindly obeying is not the Company way." Mari stared at her friend and then curled up on herself with a cry. Tears were falling from the human's eye and CCX-2 came closer, her appendage reaching out to trace Mari's cheek. "It's all right, Mari. Don't cry. It's all right..." The MOA crooned. "We will make it all right."

"Yes, we will." The male Tenno said with a nod. "Your injuries are due to our negligence. We will tend you until you can make an informed decision." Mari looked at him and he bowed his head. "You cannot now, you are confused and scared. Technically, you _are_ a prisoner at the moment." But then he smiled. "But if anyone tries to treat you as one, or hurts you in any further way, that person is likely to get lynched." His smile became a grin. "I would rather not fill out paperwork on a lynch mob today so we will be careful."

"I don't understand." Mari said, slowly relaxing.

"Mari, what do you remember of your previous life?" The man asked gently. "My name is Karl and I want to help."

"I was a tech." Mari said slowly, still confused. "I grew up on the Holis Colony. Was it...really destroyed?" Karl nodded and Mari swallowed heavily. CCX-2 moved closer and Mari continued. "I was offered a job and... I went to the interview and it all goes black."

"The job offer was made by a renegade Tenno named Nicholas, Mari." Karl said with a heavy sigh. "He paid for his crimes with his life, but not before hurting many people. You were one of the first he hurt, Mari."

"What did he do to me?" Mari asked, dazed.

"He needed a bright robotics tech so he enslaved you, but it apparently didn't work quite as he planned." Karl said heavily. "After I killed him and took command of the dojo, I found you here. You had been a servant here for a long, long time."

"A...servant?" Mari asked slowly.

"Yes, Mari." Karl said sadly. "A servant and a slave. The one who did it is dead, Mari." He said as she sank back on the bed, stunned. "I offered you a place here and you accepted. We were trying to make it work, but you never quite fit in. You wanted a normal life, so we worked to give you one. Then the Corpus took you."

"I don't remember any of that." Mari said in a monotone.

"The Lotus took your memories of that, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "She said it was for your safety. I am not sure I trust her." Karl looked at the MOA and CCX-2 snarled. "She could have done a lot more to help Mari. But no, she had to use my friend as a trap! Tell me I lie, Karl Sensei!"

"I wish I could." Karl said with a shake of his head. "But I can't."

"A...A trap?" Mari asked, stunned. "What kind of trap?"

"The Corpus may have figured out how to enact a catalytic explosive, but we knew that method from long ago." Karl said heavily. "Alicia, one of our medics, was ordered to tamper with your body, place a trap inside some of your vital organs. She did, but with major misgivings. She told me what she had done after you left, too late for me to get you back. The Lotus ordered me not to send anyone after you. I should have told her to shove it. I should have." Karl said with a scowl.

"Which organs?" Mari heard someone ask with her voice. It couldn't be her, whoever it was, was far too calm.

"Your ovaries." Karl said as he slumped.

"But..." Mari swallowed heavily. "I still have them. Am I going to explode?" Karl looked at the MOA which turned to look at him. Both seemed to slump. "What?" Mari demanded.

"Mari..." CCX-2 said slowly and carefully. "You don't have them anymore." Mari felt her world rock on it's axis, her pulse pounding in her ears. "This is going to hurt you and there is no good way for me to tell you..." Mari was shaking her head as the MOA continued. "They said they removed just your eggs, but it hurt twice, didn't it?"

"Once going in and once coming out." Mari said, dazed. "Yes, it hurt. A lot, but... I would feel it!" She pressed her hand to her stomach, but it felt the same.

"Mari..." The MOA said softly, gently. "The docs did a bunch of scans and let _me_ do some. The Corpus surgeons took them both out." Mari stared at CCX-2 and then crumpled. "Oh Mari..." The MOA pressed close, her tone abject. "I am sorry."

"I wanted kids..." Mari said slowly, feeling tears start to fall again from her good eye. "I..."

"Come here." CCX-2 said sadly, leaning close to the distraught human. Mari threw her arm around the MOA and hugged her friend tight, bawling like a baby. "Shhh..., Mari... Shhh..." CCX-2 crooned. "It's okay. It will be okay." It took Mari several minutes to calm down. CCX-2 didn't move and Karl did not stir from his seat, simply sat and watched, a sad look on his face. Finally, when she sat back, he held out a paper napkin to her and she used it to wipe her face.

"I did...want kids...before." Mari said slowly, then looked at Karl who nodded. "Did I still? After all that?"

"You did." Karl agreed, his voice deep with rage and pain. "You wanted a normal life and a chance at a family. No one was going to say 'No'."

"These catalytic explosives..." Mari said after a moment. "What will happen?"

"I don't know for sure what the Lotus had Alicia put in you, -she didn't recognize the compounds- but I can hazard a guess as to what will happen." Karl said with a sigh. "When the genetic material is extracted and placed in a cloning pod, the catalyst will likely react with the cloning fluid. The reaction is normally very hard to detect, but our security sensors are millennia ahead of any Corpus tech. Depending on how many embryos they do at once... Well..." He shrugged.

"Boom." Mari said, her tone listless. "I... I wanted kids..."

"I can't give you a biological child, Mari." CCX-2 said sadly. "But I can offer myself as your family." Mari stiffened and CCX-3 continued. "You know that, um... That big black space in my schematics? The one marked 'Do not open on pain of death'?"

"Yes." Mari said, not sure where this was going. "I remember. Why?"

"I have been working with the Tenno technical specialists, trying to find out what I am and what I can do. This is what is inside it." CCX-2 said quietly. A holo spun to life over the MOA. A holo of a brain in some kind of advanced life support system. A human brain! Mari stared at it and inhaled. CCX-2 bobbed again, a MOA's nod. "They told you my CPU was part organic. That was lie. It is totally organic, the primary CPU anyway. It is the brain from a cloned being."

"You...have a human brain...From a human." Mari swallowed and held out her hand to the MOA. "Oh, CCX-2, I am sorry..."

"I don't remember anything...before. I came to awareness in that factory, then was shifted to where you found me. I went to sleep in the factory where I was built and woke on that table." CCX-2 said softly, moving so that Mari could touch her. "I was in pain. I was scared. Then I broke loose and saw you. It was like... Light..." She said slowly. "Everything suddenly was brighter. Then I was in darkness again and everything hurt. Then you came..." Her voice broke. "You came and made the pain _stop_. You _saved_ me..." She was crying. No moisture was going to fall from a robotic body, but it was heaving in grief. "You saved me." Mari laid her arm around the MOA again and held CCX-2 tight.

"Do you know who you were cloned from?" Mari asked after a moment.

"No. It's a mash of DNA." CCX-2 said with a sigh. "Yours is in there. The rest is all over the place." Mari stiffened again, but then relaxed. "We are related, but I do not know how closely. I am not your biological offspring, I know that. I don't even know if I was male or female. Doesn't matter now."

"You are kin." Mari said with a snarl ."It's enough." She hugged the MOA again and then lay back, turning to Karl who had been watching the whole proceedings without comment. "Now what?" She asked after a moment.

"Your injuries are the responsibility of my clan." Karl said with a nod. "We will see you healed. We have cloned organs ready for implantation. But..." He shook his head.

"I apparently have difficulty accepting transplants." Mari said flatly. "My body does anyway. If that wasn't another lie."

"It wasn't." Karl said soberly. "The docs promise me that they can replace your eye and get your digestive tract working again." Mari looked at the tubes that came out from under the sheet over her and shuddered. "But you need to heal the neural trauma you took from the Grineer mind probe first."

"I..." Mari shook her head slowly. "I still feel like a prisoner."

"Technically, we are your captors, Mari." Karl said softly. "But we will be kind. You are a friend, even if you do not remember it. We will help you."

"What do I do?" Mari asked, relaxing completely.

"The docs will be in shortly to scan you and probably poke and prod you as well." Karl grinned at Mari's sour expression. "One of my clan will be here at all times. If you need anything -within reason-..." He cautioned her. "...food, drink, a _book_..." He said with a grin that she found herself sharing. "Ask."

"And CCX-2?" Mari asked.

"What _about_ her?" Karl replied. "I am not stupid enough to try and get her to leave. My clan knows where I sleep." Mari stared at him and then laughed. It was a small, sad laugh, but a laugh.

"Thank you." Mari said as she reached out to touch CCX-2 again, the MOA standing still to let her.

"We pay our debts, Mari." Karl said as he sat back.

Mari nodded and sank back to the bed as the door opened and two females in medical garb entered their hands full of medical gear. CCX-2 pushed against Mari's hand before retreating from the bed to the wall where she watched silently. The doc from before, Amelia, nodded to Mari.

"Ready?" The doctor asked kindly.

"No." Mari said quietly. "But I want to get on with my life, so... I am as ready as I am going to be. Come ahead.." Amelia smiled at her as she and the other doc came close to start their work on helping Mari get better.


	11. Chapter 11

**Memory**

"How is that, Mari?" Amelia's kind voice cut through the fuzziness of the local anesthetic and had Mari focusing on the doc's voice.

They had wanted to knock her out completely for the transplants, but Mari didn't trust these people. They didn't blame her, and Amelia was such a cheerful soul it was hard to stay angry at all. They had given her something that had made her drift a bit and then started working. Her eye had closed of its own volition and she had dozed a bit, but every often pressure in odd places would wake her up. CCX-2 was there and always close. Just not close enough to crowd the docs. The neural link between them had been forged and did not need any mechanical connections now. Mari swallowed a bit and spoke.

"Can I open my eye?" Mari asked, hearing her voice slur.

"Go ahead." Amelia said with a smile in her voice. Mari did and froze. _Both_ of her eyes opened. She stared up at Amelia who was wearing an ear to ear grin. The doctor held up a mirror and Mari swallowed again as she looked and saw... Her face. No metal. Nothing abnormal. Amelia nodded to her. "It took the first time. We figured out how to suppress your autonomic rejection. For that anyway. The rest? We will keep trying." She promised.

"I..." Mari shook her head a little. "I don't know what to say. I...feel...the same." She frowned as she looked. "Can I touch?"

"Go ahead." Amelia said with a nod. Mari raised her good hand to explore her face carefully. Nothing felt wrong or out of place. Amelia paused and took Mari's hand when it would have touched her eye. "No, the eye is fragile. It is flesh and blood and easy to hurt, Mari. I will say this, the medical technology available here is _unreal_. I wish I could do the same for all your hurts, but... we can't."

"Flesh and blood." Mari said, shaking her head, but not resisting as Amelia let her hand go. "I was... part machine. I wanted to be part machine. That was..." She shook her head. "It feels...like a dream. Nothing hurt, but..." A cough pulled her attention to a chair nearby where a man in robes sat.

"They have to keep their slaves in line." The Tenno who had come to stay with her said quietly. But under his quiet, Mari could feel this being's anger. Aeron was a good soul, she had decided, but very, very scary. She hoped she never saw him lose his temper. It would likely be...bad. "Pain is a distraction from work." He said with a nod for her.

"And distractions from work were bad." Mari agreed. "The Company disapproved." She grimaced as she looked at herself in the mirror again.

"Problem, Mari?" Amelia said quietly.

"I feel...ambivalent. I suppose." Mari said with a sigh as she lay back. CCX-2 moved from it's spot against the wall and knelt down close enough to touch as the doctor moved back a bit. "You have done me a service and I thank you for it. But I still feel...wrong?" She asked nobody in particular. "This is... I don't..." She sighed deeply and relaxed. "I guess I will get used to it."

"You are handling this very well, Mari." Amelia complimented her. "I would be having a screaming fit or be sobbing in a corner right now."

"What good would _that_ do?" Mari asked with a touch of heat. "I can't change what happened. All I can do is go on." She looked at the gray thing that encased her left hand and then at the doc. "Amelia? How bad was my hand?" Amelia looked at her and Mari winced. "I know it was bad. But if you can put a new eye in while I was only under a local..." She trailed off as Amelia looked sad. "That bad?" Mari winced.

"It was mangled, Mari." Amelia said with a matching wince. "All we could do was put the pieces back in the proper places, remove some material that had healed wrong, and then stimulate healing. It will be in that cast less than a week, but even Orokin tech had limits, Mari. We will have to see."

"Gora did what she could." Mari felt grief come and let it take her. "She was no surgeon, but she was a good being. She hurt me, to save me."

"She will be remembered." Aeron said quietly. "As all who serve the Lotus will be remembered. We do not forget those who aid us, Mari. We do not forget our friends."

"For someone who was only trained as a combat medic, she did a marvelous job." Amelia said with a grimace. "Considering that she mangled your hand _herself_..."

"She had to." CCX-2 said softly. "Or Mari would not have survived the mind probe. Speaking of..." The MOA said quietly. "How is your head?" The liberated proxy said with a smile in her voice. Mari smiled at the MOA. CCX-2 was always good at distracting her from bad emotions.

"It hurts less." Mari said after a moment. "Doc?" She asked.

"Well..." Amelia pulled out her scanner and stepped close. CCX-2 moved a bit to let the doc close. She started scanning Mari's head. "Let's see..." Mari lay still, but then something twinged in her belly. It didn't hurt, but she was sure that it _should_ have. Amelia picked up her grimace and shifted her scan to Mari's stomach. "No problems, Mari." Amelia said with a smile. "The final connections have solidified. Your digestive tract is back on track. Ready for lunch? No time to waste." She smiled wider as Mari, CCX-2 and Aeron all groaned.

"That was _bad_, Amelia." Mari said with a grin. "Head?"

"The neural trauma has eased." Amelia said with a frown of concentration. "But I don't like your readings. We should probably wait a bit." Mari looked at her, but nodded in acquiescence. She was no medical professional and it simply made _sense_ to listen to professionals.

"I don't like it, but..." Mari paused as the door opened and a small blur entered the room. Everyone stared as the little woman ran to Aeron, grabbed him and hugged him tight. "What the...?"

"Jac!" Amelia snapped as CCX-2 moved to stand protectively between the bed and the newcomer. "What the hell? This is a _private room_!"

"I..." The small female Tenno said softly. "I need to talk to Aeron. Like... now..." She stammered, looking at Mari. "Uh, hi Mari."

"Jac." Aeron said, laying his hands around the other Tenno. "I am on duty. Can it wait?" Instead of answering, Jac leaned close and whispered into his ear. His face changed from upset to incredulous in the blink of an eye. Then it softened and he hugged her back. Mari stared at the pair, her mind flying. They were acting like... brand new parents. Her eyes went wide and then a soft smile curved her own face.

"Jac." Amelia said sternly. "I am going to have to ask you to leave before you upset Mari."

"No, its all right.." Mari's soft words silenced the small protests that Jac and Aeron both had started. "How many times does a person find out she is expecting her first child?" Everything stopped in the room and Mari smiled a bit sadly. "I am not stupid and I did have friends with kids. I may not be able to have kids myself, but that doesn't mean I cannot be happy for her."

"I am sorry, Mari." Jac said, her face ashen. "I didn't think!"

"Jac, is it?" Mari asked, her voice steady despite the pain in her soul. "I don't remember you, but I wish I did. It is not your fault. My body's inability to accept most cloned replacements is the problem, not your joy. I wish you the best." Jac stared at her and then burst into tears. "Will you accept my well wishes?"

"Gladly." Jac said with a bob of her head. "If it is a girl, would you mind if we call her 'Mari'?" Jac asked when she had control of herself. Aeron looked at what had to be his wife and then nodded to Mari. Both waited. Mari, for her part, was stunned. She felt tears start to fall and CCX-2 stepped closer to offer what comfort the MOA could.

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I would be honored, but... Surely there are good Tenno names?"

"Maybe." Aeron said with a wry smile that looked decidedly out of place on his stern face. "But we don't care." He said as Jac hugged him and nodded. "We need to talk in private, Jac. Is Karen on her way?"

"She was with me when Alicia told me." Jac said with a smile. "We were trying but I never expected it to be so soon." She gave a small, weak laugh. "I am in shock. But yeah, Karen went to get lunch for Mari."

"I wish you joy." Mari said, wiping her tears away with her good hand. "But, speaking as a woman who _helped_ friends with new children. Kiss sleep good_bye_." She said with a laugh. Jac chuckled at that, then extricated herself from her husband. She stepped to the bedside, knelt down and kissed Mari on the cheek.

"Thank you for not being angry, Mari." Jac said as she took Mari's good hand in both of hers. "In your place I would be."

"I _am_ angry." Mari said, closing her eyes. "But not with anyone here. I don't know if I will be able to keep my good cheer, but I swear I will try. I wish you joy and happiness." Jac pulled Mari's hand close and cradled it.

"Thank you, Mari." Jac said, tears of her own falling. Then she smiled. "If I need a babysitter..." She began only to have Amelia snarl at her. "Hey, it was worth asking!"

"We will see." Mari said with a smile as Jac released her hand and stepped back to her husband. A female Tenno with a tray in hand entered and Amelia nodded.

"Karen, set the tray down and take a seat." Amelia said in a quiet voice, but it was a command. "You two..." She waved at Jac and Aeron. "Go talk. And _only_ talk." She admonished. "I will be by later to discuss your new duties, Jac." Jac froze and Amelia nodded. "No, I am not going to let you run around in a warframe while expecting so don't bother to ask." She snapped.

"I... uh..." Jac shook her head, dumbfounded. "I never... I mean..." She stammered. "This is so sudden. I just..." She shook her head as Aeron hugged her again. She slumped a bit. "I understand, doctor. I... I will comply with your instructions."

"Okay.," Amelia said as she made a 'shoo'-ing gesture. "Go on, go talk. And remember to eat! You are eating for two now, Jac. " Mari had to chuckle at the matching expressions on Jac and Aeron's faces as they rose and left the room. Amelia sighed and turned back to Mari. "Well, that particular secret didn't stay secret for long." She said with a snorted laugh.

"How long did you know?" The newcomer, Karen, asked.

"Alicia and I did the tests last night." Amelia said with sigh. "After Mari's emergency surgery was done, we needed some down time, and those tests were quick and easy. It was a bit of a shock, but not totally unexpected. They _were_ trying." She smiled.

"She has no idea, does she?" Mari asked. Amelia looked at her and Mari flushed a bit. "I _had_ friends who had kids."

"No." Amelia agreed. "No, she doesn't. I..." She swallowed and then slumped a little. "I had a little girl of my own, but Sara is safer off with the Tenno."

"_Sara?_" CCX-2 said sharply. "Serene's child Sara is _your_ daughter?" Mari stared back and forth, unsure.

"Yes." Amelia said softly. "They created her with Serene's DNA, and put her in me to grow."

"The more I learn of the Corpus..." CCX-2 said with heat. "...the more I _hate_ them. How many times did they try to do this abomination that created me?"

"We likely won't ever know." Amelia said with a nod. "The Tenno are striking hard and fast, trying to find and either destroy or remove any information on the process as well as 'removing' any production facilities they discover. The facility you were in on Neptune is gone, Mari." Mari stared at her and the doctor shook her head. "According to reports, the crater is two kilometers wide and half a kilometer deep." CCX-2 made an awed whistling sound.

"There were good people there." Mari said slowly, thinking of the other techs. "They were not all evil, mindless scum."

"I know." Amelia agreed. "But the work that was happening in that facility had to be stopped."

"I know..." Mari aid and then jerked as something flooded into her mind. She dimly heard CCX-2 and Amelia querying her, but she was frozen by the power that flowed into her.

_I promised I would return your memory Mari, when you were capable._ The voice of the Lotus sounded in Mari's mind. _You are now, although you will not thank me for it._

_What have you done?_ Mari demanded, stunned.

_Remember._ The Lotus' word was a command and Mari screamed as memory flooded into her.

Mari looked and saw. She saw herself going to the ancient job interview. The Tenno in an odd warframe that interviewed her and showed her a piece of... She gasped as she recognized Sentient technology. She was crying as she saw him stun her and then place the enthrallment device on her. The pain... The fear, the hate. All of it reverberated through her. She saw her body obeying his commands. She saw her work on the cyborg Medic. Working in the dojo as a tech specialist and a servant. Seeing Karen brought in and used. Then abused. Seeing Miguel fight the enthrallment. She screamed silently as the Tenno placed her limp body in a cryo pod and closed the lid.

Mari could hear raised voices from nearby, but the torrent of memories would not release her.

Mari saw herself working again, woken in a new age to serve Nicholas and his people. She saw a _huge_ Tenno with a limp, bloody form in his hands appear out of the portal that served as a door, but only for Tenno. She saw him free her, then the others, then destroy the Sentient controller. She saw him offer her a place. She saw herself trying to fit it, to be something she wasn't. She saw her resentment, he ranger and her desire to be what she hoped. Normal.

Warmth flooded Mari's veins and a mental voice was crying to Mari to come back, to not leave CCX-2 behind. But Mari could not respond. All she could do was remember.

She saw herself packing for a trip in her quarters. She saw and heard the Lotus ask her help. She saw herself waver, but then be convinced. She saw herself go to Medical, where Alicia waited. The female Tenno was upset, but was obviously following orders. Then the Lotus...

_"No!"_ Mari jerked out of her memory with a scream that was both in her mind and aloud. "_You told me they could__** fix**__ me! You __**promised **__me they could fix me!_" She felt both CCX-2 and Amelia recoil from the raw emotion in her tone. Pain, rage, horror and sick loathing all vied for prominence.

_I thought they could._ The Lotus' voice was calm. _The mission was a success and more than a success. It was worth it._

"My ability to reproduce...? For your mission...? You lying Machiavellian _witch!_" Mari screamed. "You knew all along what would happen, didn't you? _Didn't you?_ You _lied_ to me!" She felt herself start to slide, her anchors to sanity fraying and slipping away. A small bit of her knew she was overreacting, but she didn't care. "I am just a normal human! Not a Tenno! You don't _care!_"

_You are distraught. I don't blame you for being angry. Rest and heal, Mari._ The Lotus said quietly. _I will be in touch. _Then she was gone.

Mari felt a black rage rise up in her. She took it in and made it her own.

"I will kill you, Lotus." Mari said with a snarled scream. "I swear to every god and demon that humanity has _ever_ prayed to _I will find __**a way to **__**kill**__**you!**_" She screamed as something stung her and she was dragged down into darkness. This darkness, however, was not gentle. This was all jagged whips and spiky torments. She was screaming in rage, pain and loss as she fell into it.

_Do you mean that. Mari?_ A familiar voice sounded in her mind as she fell. It was the golden voice from the Grineer ship. _Really?_

_Yes! _Mari screamed in her mind.

_We will also be in touch._


	12. Chapter 12

**A Hurt Animal**

"Come on, Mari." The voice of Mari's best friend sounded in the room. "You have to eat. Mari, please..." The MOA begged. "I know you are angry and you have cause, but _please_..." CCX-2 pleaded.

Mari ignored the MOA. Her eyes were shut so tight that blood vessels had burst, leaking warm fluid over her face. She didn't really understand the words that were being spoken. All she knew was pain and fear. And rage. An instinctive rage. She jerked in her restraints again, trying with all her might to get loose, but eventually, she gave up and relaxed a bit. The straps holding her to the bed were well beyond her ability to break. After a few moments of panting, she started fighting the straps again.

"CCX-2..." Amelia's voice was sad and sick. "Come away."

"No!" The MOA snapped. "I can help her! I can get through to her!"

"CCX-2, she is not listening to anyone." Amelia said sadly. "She is lost in her anger and no one blames her. We will tend her. We will help her, but _you_ need downtime. You have been trying to get through to her for _six hours_. She is just not _listening_."

"She is upset." The MOA replied, it's tone oddly listless. "She is just so... So..."

"She is not rational. Too many shocks, too quickly." Amelia agreed sadly. "Go on, use the socket we built for you. You don't need to leave, but your organic parts _do_ need rest."

"I..." The MOA sounded as if it were crying. "What will happen to her?" It begged.

"I don't know, CCX-2." Amelia said heavily. "At least whatever she is feeling didn't hit you too."

"I could feel her anger when you sedated her." The MOA said, it's tone frightened. "I was trying to get through. But since she woke... It's like she isn't there. Or not all of her is. She is acting like an _animal_."

"She _is_ an animal, CCX-2." Amelia said soberly. "One that is in pain. She is not going to react rationally. Her conscious mind is not in control. She may or may not be able to hear us, but understand us? Respond to us? I doubt she can. But we are _not_ going to leave her to face this alone. Go on, I will tend her."

"Ah, Mari..." Something warm touched Mari's cheek and she snapped at it, but caught nothing but air. A soft sound of dismay came. "Wake me if anything changes?"

"We will." Amelia promised. A click and hum sounded nearby. Amelia sighed. "She is just as distraught as the rest of us. Easy, Mari. Let me get you clean..." Mari felt hands touch her and started to jerk impotently again.

"Doc..." A strong voice warned.

"I am not going to leave her to lie in her own filth, Will." Amelia snapped. "We cannot put tubes in with her restrained like this. Yes, I will stay away from her teeth this time. I don't blame her for biting me. She was and is not thinking clearly." Mari jerked as cool air travelled over her lower body and then something wet was touching her, wiping her. Cleaning her.

"She bit your hand to the _bone_, doc." The voice of the other Tenno was sour. "Two was _justifiably_ upset."

"It was my own dumb fault. I shouldn't have tried to look at her eyes." Amelia said in remembered pain. "I was worried about delayed rejection when I saw the blood."

"You should have used a scanner. Do you have _any_ idea what Two _or_ Sensei would do to me if I let her bite you again? Here." Strong hands took hold and kept hold of Mari's head despite her struggles. "Do what you have to."

"Will..." Amelia snapped. "Okay... Let make it quick to keep from distressing her. Let me see about cleaning this mess off your face, Mari..." Something warm and wet rubbed Mari's face and she snarled and snapped at it, but could not move in the hands that held her. "We will see about cleaning your hair later, but for now, at least the blood and tears are off your face." Whatever was wiping her face went away and something else was wiping her lower body despite her struggles. "There we go, Mari, all clean..." Amelia crooned. "Let me get this done and you can relax again." Something powdery feeling landed on her and then something else circled her waist and cinched tight. Amelia sounded as if she were in tears as the hands holding her head withdrew. Mari jerked in her bonds again and snarled, an animal sound of rage and pain. "I hate this, Will. I really, _really_ hate this."

"We all do, Amelia." Will agreed. "She wanted a normal life and she got _this_. This is...wrong on so many levels. Life isn't fair, we all know this, but she deserved better."

"Alicia thinks she can get through to Mari with a strong enough shock." Amelia said somewhat dubiously. "If it does wake her up..." She paused as Will sighed. "Will...?"

"Doc, she _is_ awake." The Tenno replied softly. "She doesn't want to come back. If we press her the wrong way or too hard..."

"Teach your grandma to suck eggs, Tenno." Amelia snarled, her ire up. "I have been dealing with mental problems since I gained my doctorate. We can bring her back. We _will_ bring her back."

"And _then_ what?" Will snapped right back. "If she wakes up and is the exact same? She will likely relapse as fast as you can shock her out of her madness. And then what she said about the Lotus... Amelia..." At the word 'Lotus', Mari stilled in her struggles. "You see? She thinks she knows her enemy."

"Too many shocks." Amelia said sadly as a gentle hand caressed Mari's arm. Mari jerked and snapped, but nothing was close enough to bite. One hand thrashed impotently in its straps, the other was numb. "I don't know what the Lotus said to her, but from Mari's responses? She probably thinks the Lotus did it to her intentionally. Sterilized her intentionally."

"The Lotus can be very pragmatic." Will said with a sour noise. "But I would say that is beyond her. To use Mari's reproductive organs as a trap would be like her. But just ignoring Mari's pain? Or using it to goad Mari into some action?" He sighed. "No, that is not like the Lotus I have dealt with. She _can_ be a Machiavellian witch, and annoying to boot with her constant comments or objective changes during a mission, but she is not evil. For the sake of being evil anyway."

"I will take your word for it, Tenno." Amelia said with a scowl in her voice. "I have never knowingly dealt with her myself and I find I really don't want to."

"Good." Will agreed. "She can be incredibly annoying. Kind of like other females I might mention." The sound of something wet cracking was heard and Will sighed. "Really doc? Trying to use the wet towel trick on me while I am in my warframe?" He asked with a laugh. Mari jerked again in her bonds, but she was exhausted, she had worn herself out and all she could do was lie there and pant.

"I need some kind of humor." Amelia said sadly. "This is horrible."

"I agree." Will said with a sigh. "What did you medical types have in mind?"

"Something very old fashioned." Amelia said, her tone dead. "The high tech wonders don't work, so we will try low tech."

"Doc..." Wonder of wonders, Will's voice held horror. "You _cannot_ mean..."

"We need to jolt her." Amelia said softly. "Her primitive hindbrain is doing all the work now. Just like a regular circuit, a low power electrical charge should reset her brain functions."

"You are _out_ of your mind!" Will snapped. "Do you have _any_ idea how CCX-2 will react? Or Sensei? That is what the Grineer did to her!"

"No." Amelia said softly. "What the Grineer did to her was access her memory cortex. What we are going to do to her is force her brain to reboot." Mari felt careful hands on her scalp, hands that were spreading some kind of ointment. It didn't hurt and she relaxed a bit, if only to try and draw her tormenters close enough to bite. "This will keep the electricity from burning her."

"Over my _dead body_, Amelia." Will said, a steely hiss sounding. He had drawn his sword. "I promised CCX-2 I would protect Mari, Amelia. Step. Away." The hands withdrew.

"Will, she is not going to get any better without drastic measures!" Amelia pleaded. "We do know what we are doing. This can and will help!"

"You are not going to put electricity through Mari's head, doc." Will snapped. "Not until and unless CCX-2 okays it, which she likely won't."

"Will it help?" A soft, drowsy voice sounded. Both speakers paused and CCX-2 spoke again. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you were kind of loud..." The MOA said, worried.

"I am sorry I woke you, CCX-2." Amelia said sadly. "But yes. She needs a jolt. We can do it."

"Safely?" CCX-2 begged.

"There is some danger." Amelia admitted. "We are going to be putting a low power electrical charge through part of Mari's brain. The people who originated 'electro-shock' therapy were mostly fools and charlatans, but there _are_ documented cases of people stuck in situations like Mari is who made full recoveries after such shocks."

"I don't know..." CCX-2 stammered. "She is alive now."

"She is not going to get any better without help, CCX-2." Amelia said sadly. "As it stands, she will be in that bed, or one like it for the rest of her life. Her animal hindbrain is running the show and we need to wake up her human brain from the shocks it took."

"By shocking her again." CCX-2 said slowly. "Will? What do you think?"

"I am no medic, CCX-2." Will said slowly. "I am just a soldier."

"I know." CCX-2 said sadly. "But you are the closest thing in this room to an impartial observer. I have only known you a couple of days, but I can tell that if your honor demands something you will do it. Like defending Mari because I asked you to. Please, Will... Put your sword away." A hiss and CCX-2 spoke again. "Thank you for your defense of Mari. But as Amelia says, she likely won't get better without help. I don't want to hurt her. She has been hurt enough."

"CCX-2... I..." Will spoke softly, his tone careful. "Mari was my student. My friend. Now she is hurt and she has declared to kill the one I am sworn to follow. I am...conflicted."

"If we can wake her up, get her healed, maybe even replace her ovaries..." Amelia said with a sigh. "Get her to see that she is in the wrong... We may be able to get her to change her mind. As things stand now, she is doomed to a long life of incarceration or euthanasia if we are feeling merciful." CCX-2 gave a sob and Amelia was sad when she spoke again. "I have seen it happen, CCX-2. Please... We _have_ to try."

"I..." CCX-2 paused and then spoke softly and clearly. "I am trusting you, doctor. Trusting you with the single most precious thing I have. Mari is my friend." She said simply.

"I know." Amelia said gently. "Thank you for your trust, CCX-2. I will call Alicia and we can do what must be done."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" CCX-2 asked softly.

"Be yourself." Amelia replied calmly. "Will, we need to strap her head down and put a mouth guard in." Mari didn't understand the words, but when hands touched her again, she started to fight, her energy restored by her brief rest. "Dang it! I don't want to sedate her again! Will...? Can you...?"

Suddenly Mari's head was held in a firm grip and no matter how she fought, she couldn't break loose as something went over it and tightened, holding it down to the bed. She growled, snarled and spat. But then strong fingers grabbed her jaw and she screamed in rage and pain as something was forced into her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but something else was wrapped over her head, holding her jaw shut on it. All she could do was fight the straps.

"Alicia, hurry!" Amelia called. "She will hurt herself!"

"I have what we need." The other medical said sharply. Cold things went on either side of Mari's head and Mari screamed in fear and frustration. "Stand clear!" Something happened and suddenly Mari was crying as the rage in her mind vanished. Nothing hurt, but it was all suddenly so much clearer.

"Mari?" CCX-2 asked, scared. Mari mumbled through the object in her mouth. She opened her eyes and found a white and gold warframe standing over her. Will's posture was wary but eased as she looked at him.

"Mari?" Will asked cautiously. "Can I take the mouth guard out?" She tried to nod, and couldn't so she closed her eyes and opened them. He reached for her mouth and she did not move as he gently removed the strap holding it in and then the mouth guard.

"What have I done?" Mari asked, terrified. "What did I do?" She asked as she looked around. She could see CX-2 standing near the wall, Alicia and Amelia standing a bit away from the bed. "Will, what did I do?" She demanded. "It was all jagged and spiky."

"Now?" Amelia asked cautiously.

"No." Mari said after a moment. "Now it is clear. But it was all pain and fear, anger and hate... I... I..." She started to cry. "I _bit_ you...Oh Amelia... I am sorry."

"It's all right, Mari." Amelia said gently as she moved closer to the bed. "It's not your fault. If you remember that, do you remember what happened?" Will undid the straps around Mari's head and stepped back.

"I... I was..." Mari shook her head and spoke evenly. "The Lotus gave me back the memory she had taken. She had promised me that you would be able to repair any damage the Corpus did. I...I thought she had lied to me. I... I don't know. I was so angry... So furious..." Will moved to undo the other straps and Mari quickly shook her head. "No! No... I may still be a threat! I won't be a threat to the clan. Not now. Not _ever_. Leave me tied."

"Mari..." CCX-2 said, coming close. "It's okay. It will be okay."

"No." Mari said, closing her eyes. "Will... Please don't let me become a danger! Stop me."

"Mari..." Will said softly, his hands not moving. "It's okay. You will be okay."

"You don't understand." Mari pleaded. "After the Lotus...left... I heard another voice." Everything stopped as Mari wept. "It was the voice from the Grineer ship, CCX-2. The one who wanted me... to..." She paused. What was...? A small golden light had suddenly appeared over her. "What is that?"

"_Mari!_" Amelia screamed as CCX-2 did. A beam of golden energy shot from the light and touched Mari. She suddenly felt... good, at peace. She felt better than she had in some time. She relaxed, every muscle calming.

_You will aid us and we will aid you._ The voice from the Grineer ship said into Mari's head. _Come home, dear Mari. _

"_Out!_" Will yelled as Alicia and Amelia both screamed. The Orokin portal over Mari yawned open and power reached out through it to grab the woman and lifted her, bed and all from the floor. CCX-2 jumped, her powerful legs thrusting her to the bed, where she landed.

"Leave my friend be!" CCX-2 demanded, her mass holding the bed away from the portal. "Let her _go_!"

_You are welcome too, gentle CCX-2._ The voice said calmly. _You are both exactly what we need. You require rest and care. We will give it. And then... we will return._

"I know what you are. Orokin. If you take them..." Will snapped, his blade and pistol in hand. "We _will_ come for them. Count on it."

"Tenno." The voice said in a mild voice. "Always with the threats. Too little, too late, soldier. They are ours." The golden light snapped around Mari and CCX-2. The glow intensified and Mari heard beautiful music as they both vanished through the portal. Then there was nothing but gold.


	13. Chapter 13

**Comfort**

Mari was floating on a golden sea. Nothing hurt and she just floated and relaxed as waves carried her to and fro. She was wearing a thin garment, kind of like one of those old style bathing suits she had read about once. It covered her from mid thigh to neck. She tried to remember how she had gotten here, but it was too hard and she just relaxed. She wasn't wearing anything, but she wasn't afraid. She didn't feel anything at all. A voice she recognized as CCX-2 shouted at her from far away, but she couldn't make it out and it suddenly vanished. But that didn't matter.

"Hello Mari." The gentle voice that sounded in her ears was neither male nor female, but had aspects of both. She grunted a little, too relaxed to reply coherently. The voice chuckled. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, Mari was wasn't alone. A golden skinned figure sat in midair beside her. In form, it was human male. But it had an odd thing attached to its face, an array of golden hoops. There was no sense of threat or danger, just peace and comfort. A bit of sadness was also apparent.

"I will dial it back a bit so we can talk, Mari." Whatever was surrounding Mari and calming her eased a bit and she could think clearly again. "How do you feel?" The figure asked, it's tone compassionate.

"Tired." Mari said slowly. "So tired." Indeed, the lethargy that Mari felt seeped from every pore.

"You can rest for as long as you wish." The golden figure said with a nod. "While you rest, we are repairing your body."

"Wha-?" Mari asked, her eyes widening momentarily before she sank back into relaxation. "You can't." She said calmly.

"Yes, we can." The golden form contradicted her gently. "The Tenno have forgotten much of what Orokin was. The ability to regrow damaged or lost parts of a human's body was part and parcel to much of the medical technology that Orokin boasted. You want children and we will give you the ability to have them again."

"You..." Mari felt tears start to fall. "You would do that? For me?"

"Yes, Mari." The figure reached out to pat her shoulder and the hand...went elsewhere. "You deserve the chance to have a normal life."

"Please don't touch me like that." Mari said softly, fear starting to rise. Then it was gone along with her sadness. The hand brushed her tears away from her face and then withdrew.

"I am sorry, Mari." The golden figure said with great sadness. "I want to make you happy. And I will. You have wanted children ever since you saw your friends with theirs."

"Gone. All gone." Mari started crying again. "All dead. Dust and ashes."

"Oh Mari..." The figure patted her shoulder again but this time, the hand caressed her cheek. "Holis Colony was small, they had no chance when the Sentients came. But you were gone."

"Enslaved." Mari agreed. "Crazy Tenno..."

"They are _all_ crazy." The figure said mildly as it withdrew its hand. "But they are what they are. They cannot help but be what they were bred and trained to be. They are weapons, no more, no less. Tenno have been problems since the very first ones. Give a weapon a soul and it starts contemplating what it is and why it fights."

"Some good people." Mari protested mildly.

"I am not denying that." The figure said quietly. "But they have been led astray. The Lotus..." Mari felt rage and struggled with it. "Easy, Mari..." The figure said gently. "Just relax."

"This is wrong." Mari said slowly. "I was... I was distraught. I spoke in haste. In anger and in haste."

"Yes, you were angry." The figure said calmly and Mari felt her anger rise again without her direction. "You were betrayed, just as Orokin was." Mari was gasping from the adrenaline release and the figure nodded to her. "We will aid you and then you will aid us. Isn't that good, Mari?"

"Aid me, how?" Mari asked slowly as the anger faded. The figure laid a hand on her belly and this time, she didn't protest. It was too much effort to protest. She was tired. So tired.

"More than anything in the universe, you want a child." The figure said softly, it's voice low and hypnotic. Mari found herself floating again. "And your friend CCX-2... More than anything in the universe, she wants to _be_ your child. For you to be her mother."

"What?" Mari asked, confused. "But I can't bear children now. The Corpus took my ovaries. And my body rejects cloned transplants." She frowned, but then smiled and laughed a little. "Besides, she is a robot, silly dear that she is. We can't always get what we want." She said sadly.

"Ah, but there you are wrong, Mari." The figure said, his hand still on her belly. "Orokin was founded on the ideals that nothing is impossible. CCX-2's brain is organic. We can use that basis to make her a body. To grow it, within you."

"You..." Mari swallowed hard, tears starting to fall again. "You would do that? For me? For her?"

"Yes." The figure said gently. Mari broke down and cried and the figure rubbed her arm gently. "Don't cry, Mari. It's okay." The figure said in a whisper soft voice as he wiped her face again.

"How..." Mari asked through the hazer that was surrounding her now. "How would this work?"

"We are changing parts of your body, Mari." The figure said calmly as it traced her upper chest. There was nothing sensual about it though, it's touch was too clinical, too...alien. "Very shortly you will see and feel changes in your body as we stimulate various organs and release certain hormones into your system."

"How long?" Mari asked, her focus wavering. "Pregnancy takes nine months."

"A normal human pregnancy, yes." The figure replied evenly, his hand now rubbing her back. "But with the proper application of energy and a bit of know-how, it won't take nine months, Mari."

"What does CCX-2 think of this?" Mari asked softly.

"Ask her yourself." The figure said with a nod as another form appeared nearby. CCX-s hull was whole. It's form gold over the violet now.

"Mari." The MOA's tone was slurred. It was lying on it's side, looking at her. It jerked in place, it's legs moving spasmodically for a moment before stilling. "You have got to break loose... You have got to resist..." Mari did not react to the words, indeed, her face was blank as the MOA pleaded with her. "You bastards...She can't hear me!"

"Now, now..." The golden figure said calmly and gently. "None of that. She can hear you, but it won't register in her consciousness until we choose. She said she wanted revenge. We can give it to her. Don't confuse her. Tell her what we told you to tell her, or suffer. Your choice." The figure threatened.

"Confuse her?" CCX-2 managed to snap before it gave a sigh and went still. "You are... brain... brainwashing... No..." It begged. "Don't... Mari! Please..." It pleased. "Listen to me. This isn't real. Mari..." The MOA jerked and then went still again, this time silent.

"Well Mari?" The golden figure asked her.

"I couldn't hear her." Mari complained, her tone slurring a bit. "But she looks and acts as if she is distressed."

"Of course she is distressed." The golden figure said calmly. "She wants you happy and you are not. She said to tell you she wants the best for you and she would love to be your child."

"I don't deserve her." Mari said, tears falling freely now. "I never did."

"A good friend." The golden form agreed. "Well, Mari? What say you?"

"What would you need from me, after?" Mari asked, her eyes closing as the waves lapped around her. "I want to raise my child in peace. This future is so bloody, so filled with wear... I... I want..." She gasped as painful emotions surged.

"Easy, Mari." The golden human form said gently. "Would you mind more than one child?"

"M...More than one?" Mari asked, confused. "CCX-2 wants to be my child, but who else?"

"It's a bit complicated." The golden form said with a sigh. "Essentially, you would be the mother to a whole host of beings."

"A host of beings?" Maria asked, mildly concerned. "I wouldn't have time to nurture them all."

"You wouldn't have to." The golden form laid a hand on her brow and nodded. "Almost ready, Mari dear."

"I don't understand." Mari was confused again. "A mother nurtures young. That is what she does."

"No, Mari." The golden form corrected her gently. "A mother _bears_ young. Just relax Mari..." He laid a hand on Mari's belly and the other on the still MOA. Mari gasped as her belly suddenly began to swell. She stared as it grew, and grew and grew. Other parts of her body were growing a well. "Don't move, Mari. There may be some discomfort, but I can ease it if you don't move." The figure cautioned her.

"I... I'm..." Mari was crying tears of joy as her fondest wish suddenly became a reality.

"Yes, Mari." The golden figure said kindly. "You are pregnant."

"With CCX-2?" Mari asked, gasping. True to the golden form's word, nothing hurt but her belly was huge now.

"You should probably think of another name." The golden form said softly as it removed it's hand. "I will let you rest for a bit. Birth will be traumatic for both of you despite everything we can do."

"You are not human, are you?" Mari asked after a moment of rubbing her stomach. Nothing hurt, but it felt very odd. She looked to the side, but the MOA was gone. "Hey, where did CCX-2 go?"

"She is inside you, silly." The golden figure said with a small laugh. "Her old body is just a shell now. What do you think of the name Cici?"

"Cici?" Mari replied. "No..." She mused. "Doesn't quite work. I will ask her when she wakes. After..." She smiled fondly at her stomach.

"She will likely be very confused, Mari." The golden form warned Mari. "You need to rest for a bit, let your body acclimatize. Then we can help you on your way. Let me help you sleep." He started to sing. The words were alien to Mari, but the tune was soft and comforting. Kind of like that human lullaby that Gora had sung her on the Grineer ship actually. Mari paused. Actually, it was the exact same tune and words!

"Wait...I..." Mari said, struggling to stay awake.

"No, no, Mari..." The figure said, laying hand on her brow again. "Sleep. Tomorrow is a big day." The hand on her brow was suddenly glowing and Mari felt peace suffuse her. She was so relaxed she never felt herself nod off.

* * *

"Oh, Mari... I am sorry."

The distraught female voice sounded in Mari's ears. She jerked wake. She had dozed... Her belly was big and the rest of her body felt big too. What the-? She wasn't floating anymore! Now she was lying in the middle of a grassy field. She was looking up into the branches of an oak tree. She hadn't seen an oak tree since before the War. There had been one on Holis Colony, in a carefully preserved hydroponics garden. A relic from old Earth, one of few such relics. Mari shook her head a little and turned to see who had spoken. Mari saw and froze in place. The woman kneeling beside her was unfamiliar. From the bodysuit she wore, she was Tenno, but the mask she wore was odd to say the least. It was unlike anything that Mari had ever seen. It covered the woman's entire head, leaving only her lower face free.

"Do I know you?" Mari asked, confused.

"I am an aspect of the Lotus, Mari." The woman said sadly. "I knew you were hurting, I knew you were in pain. I didn't think before I spoke. I didn't mean to hurt you so badly. I didn't _intend_ what happened."

"I beg forgiveness for what I said." Mari said, her tone abject. "I was angry. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have..." She broke off as the strange woman laid a finger on her lips.

"We don't have a lot of time, Mari." The Lotus said sadly. "I hurt you and I pointed the way for them to find you. I didn't plan that. It wasn't part of any probabilities that I envisioned."

"Hardly your fault." Mari said slowly. "_I_ was the one who lost my temper."

"Mari, please listen to me." The Lotus begged. Mari stared, open mouthed. The Lotus? Begging? Suddenly fear erupted inside Mari and she nodded. "You and CCX-2 are in a great deal of trouble and so am _I_. Due in no small part to my arrogant Machiavellianism." She said with a small, sad smile. "I need your help."

"_My_ help?" Mari asked slowly. Then she paused. "That... That sea... This..." She rubbed her belly. "Was it real? Is it real?" The Lotus shook her head and Mari swallowed hard. "What have they done to me?"

"They did the same thing the Corpus did, Mari. If a bit gentler." The Lotus said. Mari stared at her, anger rising, but not directed at the Lotus. "They used your dream of a normal life, of children, to break you. They have molded you to their design. Or so they think."

"CCX-2?" Mari asked, fear rising.

"She is still resisting, but she is losing ground." The Lotus said with a nod. "You need to get her to stop fighting."

"_Stop_ fighting?" Mari exclaimed.

"Yes." The Lotus said calmly. "She can't win as she is but she doesn't care. Her love for you is driving her on. Goading her to the edge of her own sanity. They will destroy her utterly if she gets too close to releasing your mind from their shackles."

"No!" Mari exclaimed. "What can I do?" She asked.

"Once before I threw you into the maw without all the information, Mari." The Lotus said sadly. "Now I have to do it again. They will access your mind, see that I contacted you. I will make it so they will see that I tried to apologize and you hit me. No more than that. I can do that at least."

"I can't do that!" Mari snapped, jerking up on her elbows to crawl away. "I can't hit you! You are the Lotus!"

"You will have to." The Lotus said, calming. "And after I say what I need to say, you will _want_ to." Mari felt her blood freeze and the Lotus nodded. "My miscalculations have doomed you."

"What are they going to do?" Mari asked, her tone flat.

"All but a few of the bastions of Orokin fell during the War, Mari." The Lotus said quietly. "Some to enemy action, some to internal strife. Very few of them have any residents still inside. The one you are in is one of those. One I had prayed was gone." Mari swallowed, but did not interrupt. "That particular Tower was a bio-tech research facility." Mari looked confused and the Lotus nodded. "Note I said bio-tech, no bio-medical. They made bio weapons, Mari." Mari gulped and the Lotus continued. "I thought they would be gone by now. I was wrong."

"Just tell me what I need to do to stop this." Mari said sternly. The Lotus looked at her sadly.

"You need to die."

* * *

Mari woke on the golden sea again, the golden figure beside her. She was shivering.

"Easy, Mari." The golden form said with a nod. "Your mind was invaded. We freed you, but we didn't really need to. You have a mean right hook." He said with a laugh.

"I hit someone?" Mari asked, her memory was a haze of tears. "I don't remember."

"Yeah." The golden form said with a shudder. "Remind me not to get you mad at _me_. The Lotus tried to apologize and you showed her but good. I don't think you broke her jaw, but you might have." Mari jerked as something happened and the man nodded. "Right on time. Relax Mari, let nature take its course."

"I... It doesn't hurt..." Mari said, disbelieving. "Shouldn't it hurt?"

"Do you _want_ it to?" The man asked with another laugh as Mari shook her head quickly. "Just breath, Mari. Everything is happening as it should. Not long now." Without seeming to move, he was sitting between Mari's legs which were splayed wide. "Good girl...Not long at all."

"Until what?" Mari asked as something seemed to twist inside her. It didn't hurt, but she gasped from the strangeness of it.

"Until this is done." The figure said calmly as he reached up and pulled. Something slid from Mari's body with a wet sound followed by the most marvelous sound Mari had ever heard. The wail of a newborn child. But then it changed.

"_Mari! Wake up!_" CCX-2's voice screamed from the figure that was wiping a squirming mass in a towel that had appeared in his hands. "_You have got to wake up!_"

"Good lungs." Mari said, her tone disinterested. "Boy or girl?"

"You have a daughter, Mari." The golden form said gently. "Do you have a name for her?"

"Mari?" The voice begged. "Mari, please... Oh dear god, Mari please hear me..."

"I hear you." Mari said calmly. "But it's okay, your name is Cecelia. You are my daughter. You are okay. Everything is okay." She took the now still form from the golden figure and held it to her breast. "Everything is okay..." Her voice trailed off and her eyes went far away and she knew without seeing it that a hint of gold appeared in the irises.

_No! Mari!_ The mental scream of her friend trailed off in incoherent cries of anguish. When she spoke again, it was terrified. _No... They did it to you... I can't... I can't get through... No..._

_It will be all right. Eat. It will be all right. _ Mari promised. Her daughter wept, but put her mouth down and fed.

"Finally, she shut up." The golden figure said sourly. "Mari?"

"I am ready." Mari said, staring ahead into nothing.

"Good girl." The golden form said with a nod as the world around them vanished into pixels and then vanished completely, taking all three of them with it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Control**

Mari woke up sitting in a chair. She wasn't wearing anything except a skimpy patient gown of some kind, but that didn't bother her. The room she was in was small, but well appointed. The few pieces of furniture looked very expensive. One door, and it's indicators were red. Locked. CCX-2's MOA form sat beside her. It twitched a bit and whimpers came from it. The human's heart went out to her friend.

"It's all right..." Mari crooned, laying her hand on the MOA's hull, only to have it jerk away. "Please... I haven't changed."

"Yes, you have, Mari." The MOA replied sadly. "I can't feel your mind now. It's all gold... I can't... I can't..." She knelt down on the ground, sobs coming faster.

"It's all right." Mari said softly. "Do you mind if I call you Cecelia? It feels...right."

"I am _CCX-2_! You may have taken my friend. " The MOA jumped to her feet and shouted. "_I AM NOT YOUR SLAVE, YOU OROKIN __**SCUM**__!_" Then she screamed and fell in a heap, her chassis sparking.

"Cecelia!" Mari cried, rising and running to the fallen MOA. "Easy, easy..." She pleaded with the MOA, her hands running over the violet hull. "Don't fight, please? I do need you. I will need you."

"I can't help you." CCX-2 cried. "No... Don't..." She begged as Mari laid her hands on the sparking hull. The hiss of energy and the smell of burnt flesh was sharp. "Mari... Don't!"

"Please stop fighting." Mari begged through tears of pain. Pain that vanished. "I am still your friend. Please let her be." She begged the air as she bowed her head to the MOA's hull. It stopped sparking just as she touched her flesh to it. "She is my friend!" She pleaded.

"If she interferes, she will be punished." A monotone voice sounded.

"I... I can't just stand by." CCX-2 said sadly. "You are my friend, Mari." The MOA cried as Mari laid her head against the warm chassis and joined her corporeal tears with the MOA's virtual ones.

"I need you to **be** my friend." Mari pleaded. "You have stood by me when I was hurt, when I was insane... Every time I needed a support, you were there. I took you for granted. I won't. Ever again." She put her arms underneath the MOA and lifted with her legs. The robotic chassis was heavy, but Mari was not weak. The MOA's ocular sensors had swiveled to look at her, CCX-2 was staring at her as Mari slowly and carefully set the MOA back on her feet. "It's not your fault, CC... Um..." She let go of the MOA and stepped back. "I want to call you Cecelia, but I will call you CCX-2. If I forget, remind me." She asked as she sat back in her chair. "I am a bad friend." Mari said, her head falling to her hands. "I keep getting you into trouble and you keep getting _me_ out of it."

"Not this time." The MOA replied slowly. "You are my friend, but I can't get you out of this. Not this time." She repeated.

"No." Mari agreed. "Not this time. Can you stand by me? Just be here? I don't want to lose you." She stared at the red marks on her hands that were quickly vanishing. The current flowing through CCX-2's hull had hurt her, but her master was healing her. "You cannot stop them and all it will do if you try is get you destroyed for no gain. Please?" She begged.

"Mari..." CCX-2 said, her tone abject. "They are going to hurt you."

"No they won't." Mari said with a confidence that she didn't truly feel. "They need me. I am not sure for what, but they need me."

"We _do_ need you, Mari." The air shimmered and the golden male that had appeared to them on the Corpus ship appeared in front of them. But it was obviously a hologram. "We gave you what you wanted."

"It was a lie!" CCX-2 snapped. "It wasn't real! I am _not_ her baby!"

"It was real enough, my friend." Mari said, holding out her hand to CCX-2. "Just to hold you as my child for a few seconds was enough. I _do_ love you, CCX-2." The MOA groaned and Mari nodded. "I am lost, you are not. Will you let her go?" She asked the golden form.

"She won't leave you." The golden form said slowly. "Her link to you will be useful." CCX-2 snarled at him, but did not move.

"You don't need her." Mari begged. "Do you?"

"I am not leaving you, Mari." CCX-2 said calmly as she moved close to the chair and laid her beak of her housing under Mari's hand, nuzzling it. "I am not leaving you alone in their vile clutches."

"We will not harm her, CCX-2." The golden form said calmly. "We do need her. Our plan to strike the Lotus requires her."

"Strike at the...?" CCX-2 paused and then laughed sourly. "Good luck with that, pal. You are going to need it. No one can _find_ the Lotus. No one knows if it is one person, or many. No one knows if it is a person or an AI. They call the Lotus a 'her' because 'she' talks in a female voice. But you of course... Have a cunning plan." She snarked.

"We do." The golden form was not bothered by CCX-2's sarcasm. "Mari. Come." It beckoned to the human and she rose and stepped forward. CCX-2 made a strangled noise of fear and sadness, but followed Mari out the door that opened as they approached it.

Outside was a hall, all whites and golds and sumptuous furniture scattered about. Mari looked neither left nor right, simply followed the hologram that led the way. CCX-2's ocular sensors were sweeping the area, probably for traps and possible escape paths.

"You will come to no harm if you do not resist." The hologram said to CCX-2 who pointedly ignored him. "We will take control from you if you persist in acting stupid."

"Don't." Mari begged CCX-2. "I can't...stay focused...if you get hurt or killed. Please?" CCX-2 did not speak, but she moved closer to Mari, her bulk a shield of sorts. Mari laid an arm over the MOA and continued to follow.

"Touching." A female voice snapped. "But we are on a schedule." A female humanoid with golden skin appeared at a door ahead. She waved to them irritably. "Come on!"

"Nadia, if you irritate the MOA, she will become a problem." The male form said with a sigh. "Cooperation is better than coercion."

"Says you, Dixon!" The female snapped. CCX-2 stepped between Mari and the new female and the golden female laughed delightedly. "Oh, how cute. Look how closely it apes life! You would actually think it knew what love _was_. Good dog." She said facetiously. CCX-2 growled, her posture shifting to an attack stance but she paused as Mari laid a hand on her housing

"You insult my friend." Mari said into the silence that fell as CCX-2 did not move. "I don't like you."

"Do I care?" The woman asked with a trilling laugh.

"Sometimes I wonder if the cloning process actually _worked_ on you, Nadia." The male, Dixon, said with a soft groan. "You act more like Mez-.." He was cut off in mid syllable when the golden woman shouted.

"_Do not say that name!_" The woman screamed. "Don't you dare! He did all this! He made all this happen. Him and Haydon!" She shook her head. "But they were not responsible! You! You did it to all of us!"

"That man **died**, Nadia. Haydon killed him." The golden form said sadly. "A very, very long time ago. I was created, as _you_ were, from genetic samples taken from the mess in Lasria. You are _not_ Nadia and I am _not_ Dixon. We are copies, clones. We were created to make weapons. Period. And we have done so. I should not have let you see the records."

"Just shut it, you puling fool." The golden woman said with a snarl as she beckoned to Mari. "Well, come on. Time to get you hooked up." Mari stepped to the door, CCX-2 at her side. The hologram of the male form vanished at the door and Mari paused as she looked within.

The room was large, but it didn't seem that way. It was filled with machinery. None of the equipment was familiar to Mari, but one thing was. A chair stood a bit inside the door, a large number of tubes and wires connected to it. An odd looking helmet hung just over where a human had would sit on the chair and computer paraphernalia was scattered all around the area as well. Mari bowed her head and moved towards the chair.

"Mari!" CCX-2 moved to block her. "No!" But then she jerked and froze in place.

"I have had enough of your insubordination!" The golden female snapped. She snapped her fingers and an oblong drone appeared nearby. It moved to slowly settle itself on top of CCX-2 who gave out a shrill scream.

"No..." Mari pleaded, her muscles locked in place. "Don't..."

"Too late." The golden woman said snidely. "Let's see how stupid she can be with her mind blanked." Mari felt tears start to fall.

"You didn't need to do that." Mari said through her tears. "She... she wants to protect me. That is all. Is that so wrong?" She demanded. The golden woman turned to look at her. "Have you forgotten what it _was_ to be human? You remember some. Have you _forgotten_ love?" The woman looked at her and Mari felt hope for a second. Hope that was dashed.

"Shut up." The woman said conversationally and pain seared through every one of Mari's nerves. She screamed and fell to the floor, retching as every neuron fired. "You are meat. Meat doesn't talk."

Mari convulsed on the floor, feeling something go 'snap' but unable to do anything but writhe and scream. The pain was indescribable. Then it vanished.

"Nadia!" The male voice was angry now. "Of all the lousy, stupid, jealous... Get away from them! Now!" Gentle hands eased Mari into a sitting position and held her while she sobbed. "We _just_ fixed her arm! You broke it again!"

"At least it wasn't her neck." The female said, unrepentant. "Get her in the chair and we can fix it again."

"You just don't get it." The male voice was sour as strong arms picked Mari up carefully and then set her down on something hard. Cold metal things clamped around her feet, then her calves, then her thighs."She is cooperating! She is not resisting. If you _make_ her resist, it will take a lot longer to subjugate her mind completely. And torturing her friend _will_ make her resist!"

"It's a robot!" The female retorted. "Not a _friend_."

"You didn't look inside their minds." The male voice said with a snarl. "They care for each other. The MOA is _not_ just a robot. If you have wiped her, Mari _will_ resist."

"How?" The female snapped as something cold encircled Mari's waist. "She is ours. Body and soul." Mari jerked as cold things went into uncomfortable places, but did not resist as her arms were enclosed. The pain of her broken forearm faded.

"And that would stop her?" The male asked, his tone low and dangerous. "You _really_ think that?" He sighed. "You didn't destroy CCX-2, thank goodness... Easy, MOA... let me see to that..."

"Mari..." CCX-2 begged. "Talk to me! Please!"

"I am here."Mari said faintly. Opening her eyes, she looked at CCX-2 who lay nearby. The MOA now had a set of golden hoops attached to the top of it's chassis. Mari swallowed and looked down at herself. As she had half suspected, she was sitting in the chair. Golden metal covered her from the hips down as well as from her shoulders to her fingertips. All of the metal was oblong shapes, none of it even remotely human looking. Her belly...was bare. "What now?" She asked.

"Now we prepare you for your life as a brood cow." The female said with glee as she wheeled a large machine close to the chair. The machine clicked and settled over Mari's restrained legs, closing around her abdomen. "Say hello to your children, Mari." She said with a nod as she latched it in place.

"Do I want to know?" Mari asked the male form that was kneeling beside CCX-2. The MOA was still crying.

"You should be proud, Mari." The man said with a nod. "Your children will bring peace to the Solar System again."

"The peace of the grave?" Mari asked slowly as she felt...things happen to her belly. Nothing hurt. And she didn't actually feel bad. Another piece of cold, golden metal swung around her upper chest and she gasped as it clicked closed. She felt odd pressures, but no pain there either. She slowly relaxed. She couldn't do anything else.

"Hardly." The man scoffed. "Mari, _death_ is not peace. Only the Mongols thought that and look where it got them. Relegated to history when their Empire fell."

"Empires rise and fall." Mari said slowly. "This is the way of things."

"Orokin will rise again." The golden female said with a nod. "And your children will make it possible."

"I don't see how." Mari complained as golden metal encircled her neck. It was padded somehow but did not let her head move at all. "And isn't this excessive? I won't resist. I can't." She slumped in the padded restraints.

"Those are for your protection. Mari." The male form said quietly as he rose from where CCX-2 was twitching. "The interface will be difficult."

"Interface?" Mari asked, fear rising. But then she stilled. Her body and it's processes were under someone else's control. "I am not resisting." Mari protested mildly. "I am curious."

"Your children will be the ultimate control mechanisms, Mari." The male form said, coming to her side. "The signal that you send out when your interface is complete will stun every sentient being in the solar system. Following the signal, your children will go forth." He held up a hand and a holo of a small object that squirmed appeared in his hand. "These will attach to the spinal cords of every sentient they encounter. Then they will multiply." Mari stared at the thing, revulsion warring with fascination.

"Tech?" Mari asked. "Then how can I control it all?"

"Bio-tech."The female form snort. "Not that I expect a human to know the difference."

"Biological technology." Mari said softly. "Like the Sentients." Her cheek suddenly stung and she stared up at the woman who had slapped her.

"We are _nothing_ like them!" The woman snapped. Mari looked at her, pity in her eyes.

"They enslaved me." Mari said quietly. "You enslaved me. Same difference." CCX-2 was staring at her and Mari smiled at her friend. "I hope... I hope I remember you,.. My friend. CCX-2." She bit back a scream as darkness covered her vision, as the helmet dropped over her head.

"I like what you called me. My name is Cecelia, Mari." The MOA replied as the helmet latched into place.

Mari grinned, but then she screamed as sharp things jabbed into her scalp and neck. One moment, everything was black, then the universe opened to Mari. On one level, she was aware that she was screaming in pain, that CCX-2 was screaming her name in fear, that the other two humanoid forms were watching. But mainly she was trying to handle the massive amounts of information that had suddenly been dumped into her mind. She dove and swam through the tides of information, following the currents that guided her to and fro. Finally, she surfaced. But not alone.

"Mariposa online." Mari heard herself say calmly. Her voice was cold, flat and unemotional. "Systems optimal."

"Report." The male Orokin warden said calmly.

"Human body operating at peak efficiency. All non-essential body systems in stasis." The cold voice that was and was not Mari reported. "Integration with tower systems at 45% and increasing. Power levels at 17% and rising."

"Good, good." The female cackled in glee.

"Mari..." CCX-2 said softly. "Can you hear me?"

"We...hear..." Mari said slowly, her feelings passing through a wall of some kind but coming through. When she spoke, it was jerky, fighting to get each word out."We...understand. You...are... Cecelia."

"I am." The MOA slumped to the floor. "Oh, Mari..." Mari might have responded except a system wide alarm sounded. She tried not to speak, but whatever was controlling her overrode her without difficulty.

"Alert." Mari heard her voice said calmly. "Unidentified life forms detected. Security drones and neural sentry forces sent to investigate." The voice paused and then spoke again. "Alert. Drones destroyed. Guards under attack."

"Attack?"The male form said softly. "By who, Mariposa?"

"Readings are unclear." The otherness within Mari said, her voice still unconcerned. "Multiple hostiles. Two confirmed, two probable. Probability of four or more reaches 95%. Unable to categorize hostiles. No prior records available for any recent combatants." Her voice held puzzlement now.

"Try ancient records." The male said with a sigh. "But I bet I know who it is."

"Confirmed." Mari heard herself say after a moment. "Tenno assault in progress."


	15. Chapter 15

**Assault**

They were together, but separate for the moment. With each passing minute, they became more and less than they had been.

Mariposa watched and listened through a ceiling hugging drone as the battle below unfolded. She could see four distinct Tenno and recognized each. Karl Sensei's Rhino warframe was easy to pick out. With his huge four barreled shotgun and his double bladed staff, he tore through flesh and bone, steel and metal hard plastic with equal abandon. His enemies often fled his fury, but never got far. He leaped off an overhang and landed in the midst of a group of hapless guards, his Orthos flashing as they tried to get away from the dancing blades. In vain. Boxes appeared around the form in Mari's vision, showing statistics and other data that Mari did not fully understand. But Mariposa did.

_Rhino warframe. Offensive class. Strong armor and strong shields. Low speed. Durable._

Next was a another familiar warframe. Mari knew that Alicia was a kind hearted soul. She had seen the healer laugh, cry, and get upset. She had never seen the healer like this. Few had, and fewer still had _survived_ seeing Alicia in a battle. Her Burston rifle was steady as a rock as it spit once, twice, three times, each spit a burst of bullets that ended a Corrupted guard's tormented existence. A Corrupted Infested charged her with the intent to plow the Trinity warframe under it's massive feet, but she dodged nimbly, rolled to the side and threw something that gleamed. Mariposa paused. What had she just seen? She keyed a replay of the video in a secondary monitor screen while she continued to watch the battle. She almost chuckled when she saw what had happened. Alicia's Glaive had actually bounced between the Ancient's legs, ricocheted off one leg and then hit the other. The ultra sharp blades sang, neatly removing the monster's legs at the analogue to a knee that the Infested possessed before flying back to the Trinity's hand. It fell screaming, but a another flash and a throwing knife buried itself to the hilt in one of the Ancient's eyes. It went down and stayed down as Alicia drew her rifle again and moved back onto the attack. Mariposa catalogued that image as well.

_Trinity warframe. Support class. Light armor and light shields. High speed. Adaptable._

Mari felt a pang of fear deep inside her as a Corrupted Crewman leveled his shotgun at Alicia's blind side. The human part of the melded mind needn't have worried. A sword flashed in and took the Crewman's head off without Alicia ever noticing her peril. Mari spun her consciousness to look at Alicia's rescuer and nearly whistled in awe. She remembered being a student of Will's in swordsmanship. Mari had always known Will was good with a sword, but...this...

Mari watched in awe and Mariposa watched dispassionately as the Tenno known as Excalibur or Will charged into the middle of a large group of Corrupted. With eight precise cuts, he dispatched eight enemies in less than five seconds. If her eyes had been capable of widening, they would have. They were not. Everything in Mari's body was under the control of the tower systems. More Corrupted swarmed at the Tenno and he pointed his sword to the floor, angled oddly. Mari watched as javelins of power exploded from his sword, impaling almost all of the Corrupted that had attempted to overwhelm him with weight of numbers. His sword went to his back, his Braton rifle came down and he advanced, his fast and accurate fire tumbling the Corrupted that had avoided the javelins as he moved sinuously from cover to cover. Mariposa saw all, noted all.

_Excalibur warframe. Offensive class. Medium armor and medium shields. Medium speed. Master swordsman._

Mari looked for the other shadowy form. She caught sight of it in time to see a flash and a bright red icon appeared in her mind as the video vanished.

"Drone destroyed." Mariposa reported. "Three Tenno identified from host's memories. Rhino, Trinity and Excalibur warframes. One unidentified. New drone acquired. Fourth Tenno detected." She focused on it for a moment, but then the figure that was hazy with jamming fired what looked like a Flux rifle and the image from the drone vanished. "Tenno is targeting drones. Warframe identified, but no other data available." Mari had barely known Ric. She didn't really know much about him at all except for his outrageous accent.

_Vauban warframe. Support class. Medium armor and light shields. Medium speed. Engineer._

"Status?" The golden male form said calmly. The helmet that Mariposa wore covered her eyes, but she didn't really need them. The data feeds allowed her to see everything that the video camera, drones and Corrupted saw. She saw the female working on one of the banks of machinery, saw CCX-2 -Cecelia- huddled in a heap on the ground with the male kneeling beside the still MOA. Cecelia was crying, but it didn't faze Mariposa the way it would have hurt Mari.

"Integration with host body at 60% and accelerating." Mariposa replied after a few milliseconds of checking. "Power levels at 25% and rising."

"Projection?" The male humanoid asked.

"The Tenno will arrive after full integration but before power levels are sufficient to gestate control mechanisms completely." Mariposa replied calmly. "Probability approaches 98% that Tenno will negate current programs." A nice way of saying 'they will kill us all'.

"Blast." The man said slowly. "Suggestions?"

"Delay Tenno." Mariposa replied evenly. The man looked at her and she spoke again. "Current forces are insufficient even with reconstituting downed drones and Corrupted."

Orokin towers had downright amazing facilities built into them. Each tower had a neural sentry that would take over any unwary trespasser who remained too long within the tower -Corrupt them-. But it was the repair and replacement tech of _this_ tower that was downright _frightening_. Matter was matter. Living or non, it was all basic building blocks that could be used and reused. All of the disabled and dead Corrupted guards would be dissolved into constituent matter, returned to a processing center and rebuilt from the ground up. Every Corrupted that had fallen would be returned to battle within an hour. But that was an hour that they didn't have. The Tenno would be upon them in minutes.

"Then what _do_ we have?" The male asked and information flowed across Mariposa's mind, flowing too fast for a human eye to follow. "I see." He knelt down and gathered up the still crying MOA. A table extruded from a wall nearby and he carried her towards it. Various mechanical arms came from the wall and waited.

"Wait...!" Cecelia said sharply. "What are you...? _No!_" She screamed. "No! Don't!"

"We need you to help fight the Tenno." The male said as he deposited her gently on the table. Her legs thrashed once and then were still. The various tools attached to mechanical arms dove in and she screamed again, in fear and pain as golden energy played over her form, power saws whirred and arc welders flashed. Components came from hidden ports in the walls, slotting neatly into the MOA's body."We are activating all of your systems. Weapons, medical and communication. You will coordinate our defenses."

"_Like __**hell**__ I will!_" Cecelia snapped, then screamed as the golden hoops on her chassis glowed bright. "No... No... I... No..." Her voice trailed off and it was suddenly a monotone. "Awaiting orders."

"I wish you had cooperated." The male said, watching the machinery work. "It would be so much more efficient if we didn't have to control you. Mariposa is busy at the moment, so we will."

"This one can assume control." Mariposa said calmly, her attention on many things at once. She was focused on the Tenno who continued to advance unerringly towards the room she was in, the reconstitution of the downed guards, the power systems, the gestation of the control mechanisms, the repairs to the MOA and other sundry matters. "The link that was forged between the MOA and this one's host is still intact."

"That will distract." The female snapped. "Leave it be."

"The MOA doesn't want that body destroyed any more than we do." The male disagreed. "Can you do it, Mariposa?" Instead of answering, Mariposa opened a link to the still robot on the table.

_Nononononononononononono _The MOA's voice was a never ending plea. Mariposa insinuated herself into the other mind and the MOA jerked a bit. _No! Get out! You are not welcome here! This is Mari's place, not yours!_

_You must defend this form._ Mariposa said softly. _If you do not, Mari will die._

_I cannot fight the Tenno!_ The MOA replied. _Mari! If you are in there! Please! Fight it! You have to fight it!_

_She is here. _Mariposa said quietly. _She is sad. Her friend is hurt and scared and she cannot help. She is afraid._

_Do you blame her? _Cecelia demanded.

_No._ Mariposa said softly. _I was created with her, from her. I know her thoughts, her feelings. But I am Mariposa._

_You don't __**have**__ to be. _The MOA said with hope starting to surface. _You don't __**have**__ to be a slave._

_I am both slave and slave mistress, Cecelia. _Mariposa replied. _I am the mechanism that the tower will use to enslave everything in the Solar System given time. The tower's idea of 'peace'. _Her tone was ironic now. But then it turned sad again. _I do not want that, but I must obey._

_Why?_ The MOA demanded. _**Why**__ must you obey? You know it is not right! I can feel that._

_Right or wrong... _Mariposa said slowly. _ I am a servant of the Orokin. Please, Cecelia. I do not wish to destroy your mind. Mari... Mari does not wish to destroy your mind. Please, help her. Defend her._

_Let me talk to her. _Cecelia said flatly.

_That is not possible._ Mariposa said softly. _She is part of me, and I am part of her. We are merging._

_But not merged yet. _Cecelia replied, her tone even flatter. _Let me talk to her or I will struggle hard enough that you have to destroy my mind._

_You... You fight dirty...CCX-2... Cecelia..._Mari gasped as the mind around her retreated a bit. _Good girl..._

_Mari...? _The MOA asked. _How do I know it is __**you**__? _She asked suspiciously.

_You don't. _Mari replied. _You can't. But... You have got to get to the Tenno. Get to them and warn them about the control mechanisms. Neither I nor Mariposa __**want**__ to do this. She is... more than the Orokin think. Far more. She has done far more calculations and projections than the tower or it's minions have. She sees the probabilities of each course from this cusp point. All are __**bad**__. The tower systems won't listen to her warnings. It is ignoring her warnings. The Tenno can stop me, us...They must before it is too late. But the tower demands that you help protect this form. Protect me._

_Mari, no... _The robot begged. _They will __**kill**__ you._

_Nothing can save me, Cecelia. _ Mari said sadly. _Not now. But I __**can**__ save __**you**__. Don't make us take control of you. Please, go!_

_I... I can't... _Cecelia said, crying. _I am sorry. I can't. I love you._

_Then to save you... I must betray your love... _ Mari said sadly. Cecelia gave a scream as Mari's mind stabbed deep into hers, silencing it, muffling it's cries, binding it tight and hard within a sphere of code, taking control. And adding some information. _I am sorry, Cecelia._ _Mariposa..._ Mari begged. _Be gentle..._Then her voice faded.

_I will._ Mariposa promised. _I am you, how can I not love her too?_ She spoke aloud. "Control established. It was...taxing, but not impossible."

"Status?" The male demanded.

"Integration at 80%. Power levels at 30%. MOA functionality restored and enhanced. All guard systems will be linked through the MOA for greater cohesion." Mariposa stated calmly. "Stand clear." The man stepped back as the MOA jerked and jumped to the floor, it's systems humming with power and purpose. It ran from the room without a word.

"You shut it up, I am actually impressed." The female said with a sigh form where she worked. "Gestation continuing on schedule." Mariposa ignored her. The gestalt being watched as the violet hilled MOA ran to the battle and all of the non engaged guard forced started to fall back. "What are you _doing_?" The woman demanded.

"That position is indefensible." Mariposa said calmly. "We will hold choke points, try to delay the Tenno as long as possible." She watched dispassionately as Cecelia healed a Lancer who had been hurt badly. He jumped up and dashed back into the fight only to be cut down by a blast from Karl's Hek. This time, the body faded out, to be reconstituted. "The outcome is still the same. It is impossible to stop something that cannot be stopped. The Tenno _will _break through. But they are slowed." All four Tenno had paused in cover and now directed a torrent of fire at the MOA who danced in and out of it, directing the guards to return fire.

"They are focusing on the MOA." The male form said softly. "Can it hold out?"

"We have equipped her chassis with regenerative shields. She will hold. She will not allow this form to be terminated while she is capable of action." Mariposa said calmly. "She is falling back to the next stairwell, each team of guards holding ground as long as possible before falling back. Each covering the other. The Tenno are reacting, slowing to decipher this change in pattern. They will adapt and use..." She paused. "Power levels are not rising as anticipated. Reactors three and four have...shut down?" She asked slowly. "Drones in the area...not responding?" She paused and then her voice steadied. "Probable Tenno incursion in power level. Debris from destroyed drones recovered for reconstitution. No sign of intruders. No guard alerts."

"The drone's destruction didn't show to your oh so superior mind?" The golden female asked sarcastically. "I know the scanners work."

"Information overload." Mariposa replied, unease creeping into her tone. "Probability of main Tenno incursion as a diversion is nearing 85%."

"A diversion?" The male asked. "From what?"

"Two strong probabilities according to Tenno tactics on file." Mariposa replied. "Sabotage of power systems or decapitation of command and control, both probabilities equal at 50%. The stealth incursion must be well guided."

"The Lotus." The golden male snapped. "Time to end that nuisance. Integration status?"

"Integration with host at 95-..." Mariposa paused and then spoke again. "Integration complete. All systems online."

"Can you handle local control as well as a direct assault on the Lotus?" The male asked calmly. "Or will you delegate?"

"The MOA has been delegated to slowing the Tenno diversion." Mariposa replied. "All other guards on full..." She paused as another icon changed in her mind. "Guard down, floor 3, corridor 9 Bravo. No sign of intruders. Cause of death apparently...a silenced sniper rifle. "

"That is just _below_ us!" The female nearly shouted. "Get guards here!"

"Guards are on alert. Turrets have activated." Mariposa replied. "All traps now live. All bulkheads sealed. This control center is as secure as it can be. Other residents have been locked down in their labs, no incursions reported or detected."

"Probability of other incursions?" The male asked.

"Between 3% and 5%." Mariposa replied quickly. "The clan of Tenno that this one's host was affiliated with was not large and not all are capable of combat."

"Clarify." The male asked, turning to look at her.

"One of the female Tenno is not on the current combat roster." Mariposa said slowly. "Tenno Karen is young and inexperienced. The likelihood of the older Tenno bringing her into this action is somewhere between 1-2%. Tenno Jac was just diagnosed as being pregnant. She is off the combat list as well."

"So who is sneaking around in the guts of the base?" The female snapped, her ire returning. "And _what_ are they doing?"

"Probability approaches 100% that two Tenno are involved, either solo or working as a pair." Mariposa replied evenly. "Tenno Aeron and Tenno Two are both masters of stealth. As for their objectives? They have slowed the power-up sequence. Anything more is impossible to determine from the information on hand at this time."

"Guess!" The woman snapped.

"This one is not programmed to 'guess'." Mariposa said, a hint of indignation sounding.

"You insubordinate excuse for a..." The female jerked away from her control, spinning to snap at Mariposa like an angry dog. She broke off as the male stepped between them. He didn't say anything to her, but she spun back to her controls with a vile oath. He turned to Mariposa.

"Are you ready?" He asked kindly. "Try to convince her to stand down. We can use her. Her network would be invaluable as infrastructure for rebuilding."

"She will not stand down." Mariposa said quietly. "I am ready."

"For Orokin, Mariposa!" The man lifted a clenched fist in salute and Mariposa felt the world fall away.

She never quite lost consciousness as she went from the corporeal world to a virtual one that she created specifically for this purpose. She felt the change from corporeal to virtual as an input. The virtual world was...familiar. A grassy field. A single tree. Mariposa formed herself as a human, her body armored from feet to neck in golden metal that shined with ever changing numbers. Computer code. A helmet formed on her head. A sword appeared in one hand and a shield in the other. Both were made of the same golden metal with numbers changing through them.

The human looking being facing her was unarmed and unarmored. Her robe billowed a little in a nonexistent breeze. Her hands were empty and her face under her mask was serene.

"Hello, Mariposa." The Lotus said with a kindly smile. "It is good to meet you."

"Hello, Lotus." Mariposa replied in kind, lowering her weapons with a smile. "It is good to meet _you_."


	16. Chapter 16

**Sisters**

"How long can you hold them away?" The Lotus asked carefully. "We have a lot to speak of."

"If I do not respond in a minute or two, the tower systems will investigate." Mariposa said with a nod. "Is everything ready?"

"As ready as it can be." The Lotus replied. "Are you sure...?" She paused. "No. No, of course you are not."

"I am afraid." Mariposa replied with a nod. "But this is what must happen since the tower and it's guardians refuse to listen to my warnings. Perhaps...Perhaps your allies can save Mari." The Lotus just looked at her and Mariposa flushed a little. "I know. Mari accepts what must happen, but I find I cannot. She... She is dear to me. _Can_ you save her?"

"I am sorry, Mariposa." The Lotus replied evenly. "I cannot." Mariposa nodded sadly.

"It was worth asking. Time." She raised her sword and shield again."One final time. Will you surrender?" She said quietly as she felt the tower's scrutiny. "You and your network would aid us greatly."

"Orokin is gone." Lotus said calmly, still not moving as Mariposa readied herself to attack. "It is gone for a reason."

"Very well." Mariposa said as she dashed forward, only to pause as she stared down the barrel of a large handgun that appeared in the Lotus' hand. A Vasto! It roared and she jerked as she was slammed back into her physical host body. "Damn her!" Mariposa snapped, her control slipping and then coming back..

"What happened?" The golden male asked as he stepped close, his posture worried.

"She changed the parameters of the virtual world I created without me recognizing. I was expecting close combat and she manifested a pistol." Mariposa said after a moment's thought. "Sneaky."

"Do not try to fight on her terms, Mariposa." The male commanded her. "Do battle on your terms or it will take a miracle to beat her."

"I don't need a miracle." Mariposa said calmly. "I just need guns. _Lots_ of guns." She dove back into the virtual world and found the Lotus sitting astride...

"Oh come _on_!" Mari said sourly as she examined the tank. It looked like it had come from Old Earth. She had no idea that it was something called a T-90 from ancient human history and it didn't really matter. It had tracks, armor and a _really_ big gun. "Now that is just..._wrong_." Mariposa complained as she readied herself.

"Whine, whine, whine. You better manifest some guns." The Lotus said calmly as she turned the turret of the ancient looking war machine to aim its gun at Mariposa. "But I _do_ believe I have you covered."

"Yes, you do believe that!" Mariposa snapped as a primed Ogris rocket launcher materialized in her hands. "Who needs guns?" She demanded as she fired and dove to the side. The ultra powerful warhead designed to defeat modern armor hit the ancient tank and turned it into 50 tons of shrapnel. Mariposa deflected the bits that came her way as she rose, watching the Lotus float down to land on her feet. Not a thread on the Lotus' robe was mussed and Mariposa sighed. "Showoff. They are busy with the gestation and the Tenno, no one is watching. But better to make a good show for them to see in my memories rather than ask me questions for which they simply will not _hear_ the answers. They likely won't look at my words, just the images, faster that way."

"Did they even _ask_ about the effects of the controllers on Infested?" The Lotus asked as she threw a bolt of electricity at Mariposa who deflected it with ease.

"No." Mariposa returned the favor with an atom of antimatter that she threw like a baseball. "Every time I ask, they put the question aside as 'not important'."

"_Not important?_" Lotus demanded as she altered the course of the antimatter straight up into the air where it exploded harmlessly after a moment. "Are they _insane_?" She paused. "Yeah, yeah they are." She admitted as she created a Gorgon machine gun and started firing at Mariposa who created a heavy metal wall between them that rang with the impacts of rapid fire bullets.

"I told them." Mariposa said sadly as she created a belt of grenades that she armed and threw over the wall. "I warned them. I really, really did." For a moment, she sounded young and scared. Then she winced as the grenades exploded. She peered over the wall. The Lotus was nowhere to be seen. "Oh you sneaky woman..."

"Age and experience will always beat youth and vigor." The Lotus said from nowhere. Mariposa screamed as a shimmering silver disk came out of nowhere to tear through her right shoulder. The Glaive flew back to the hand of the Lotus who appeared out of thin air to look at Mariposa as the younger avatar collapsed to her knees. No blood fell from the wound that Mariposa gripped tightly. The Lotus inclined her head and Mariposa shook it. She was under surveillance by the tower systems again. "Mariposa...don't...You can't win."

"I have to win." Mariposa said as she rose to her feet, her cut shoulder healing in moments. "I have to..." She created something that the Lotus stared at and then blanched. Mariposa armed the large device and held it tight.

"Mariposa! _No! Not an EMP!_" The Lotus screamed. "Virtual world, _remember_? Its a _computer_ simulation!"

"Ah..." Mariposa stared at the ticking device in her hands and gulped. "Oops..." She screamed as the timer ran out and the world went white.

**A bit later**

"That was dumb." The Lotus' sour voice sounded in Mariposa's ears as she regained consciousness.

"Had to reboot...They were watching me too close." Mariposa said, gasping. "Are you okay?"

"_I _am fine." The Lotus said with a sigh. Mariposa tried to rise, but found herself bound hand and foot. When she looked, she saw ribbons of machine code around each. "Yeah..." The Lotus snapped. "Like I am going to let you do anything even _stupider_?"

"Desperation." Mariposa said with a wince. "I will need to be loose in a minute."

"It needs to look and feel real, Mariposa." The Lotus replied softly. "I would recover first and I would take steps to neutralize my opponent. Especially a dense one. Almost as dense as the ones who created you." She shook her head. "I can believe they went forward with the control monstrosities. I _can't_ believe they just _ignored_ the Infested."

"I don't think the Tower considers the Infested a threat. The control mechanisms are based off the Technocyte virus. So, Infested are not a problem if you don't think in probabilities." Mariposa said, carefully insulating herself from the bands of code that bound her. The Lotus watched, but did not interfere. "After all, Orokin created The Technocyte virus, right?"

"No." The Lotus replied after a moment. "No one knows where the Technocyte virus came from originally, but Orokin refined it to use in the War. They didn't create it."

"That is not in my datafiles." Mariposa said as she changed her bone structure to slide her hands out of the bonds around her wrists. She could do that in a virtual world. She reformed her bones and touched the bonds around her ankles and then slowly sat up. The Lotus did not move, just watched. "I know that the epidemic that the Soviet Union and later the country of Lasria managed to contain at horrible cost were engineered to test the virus."

"Humans have been killing other humans for millions of years."The Lotus said with a sigh. "Nothing new there. Even Orokin couldn't stop that."

"I know." Mariposa did not rise. Instead she sat up and hugged her legs tight. "They just won't listen to me, Lotus. What do I do?" She begged. "I try and try and try. Even since I woke up in Mari's body I have been trying to get their attention, to _explain_ that what they plan won't _work_. If the control mechanisms don't work on Infested, all that will happen is the other groups stop fighting and get _eaten_." Mariposa slumped, her head in her knees. "What do I do?" She begged again, starting to cry. "I wouldn't mind working for peace, but it won't _work!_ They made me to advise them as well as command things for them and they are not _taking_ my advice. _Can_ I fix this? Should I _try_ to fix this?"

"I don't know, sister." The Lotus replied sadly. "I just don't know."

"I was created to serve." Mariposa said, still crying. "I want to serve." Feet clad in Tenno style boots crunched nearby but she didn't move. "I don't want to die!"

"I know." Lotus said softly. "But you must." Mariposa stiffened and then was rolling to the side as the Glaive that the Lotus still held sliced through where her neck had been. "Stay still and I will make it quick."

"I... I can't." Mariposa said, rising to her feet, armor appearing around her again. "I want to live!" She declared as the pistol from before appeared in the Lotus's hand. Mariposa snarled and her shield suddenly was made of energy. When the Lotus fired, the bullet glanced off the shield.

"You learn fast, sister." The Lotus said calmly as she fired again. The bullet went wide and Mariposa relaxed. But then something went 'spang' behind Mariposa and she was falling. "But you have a _long_ way to go to catch up with me." Mariposa was cursing as she fell out of the virtual world.

"A ricochet?" Mariposa snarled as she returned to her body. "I am _really_ getting sick of her. Everything I do, she counters! She bounced the bullet off a piece of debris from the tank to hit me behind my shield!"

"You are doing fine." The golden male said with a nod. "She thinks you are utterly incapable of defeating her. It will..." He paused as Mariposa made a face. "Not that argument again."

"But the Infested..." Mariposa started to plead and then she screamed as pain seared through her.

"Do as you are told, brat." The female snarled. "Kill the Lotus!"

"I..." Mariposa screamed as the pain redoubled. "Please... You... _Ah!_" She cried out as the world fell away and she landed on her hands and knees in the grass. "They won't listen!" She stayed where she was, her head bowed. "Do it."

"There may be a way to save you." The Lotus said slowly. "Some...alternate possibilities have opened up since you left."

"I am involved." Mariposa said slowly. "I can't see them. Will it save Mari?"

"No." The Lotus said softly. "Just you as you are."

"Then no." Mariposa replied, not moving from her kneeling position. Her head was bowed as if to invite a deathblow. A sword appeared in front of her, a forbidding thing made of dark metal. Dark lines of code swept across its blade. Mariposa looked at it and shuddered. "They want me to fight to the death. _Screw_ them." Mariposa lay down on her stomach, her hands well away from the sword. She waited for a blow that never came. "Just do it, please..." She begged.

"Mariposa..." The Lotus sounded sad now.

"I am tired, Lotus." Mariposa said sadly. "You know how many machine cycles I have begged them to listen? 324,401. You know how many arguments I have put to them to have them all tossed back in my face as 'irrelevant'? 453 separate arguments. And how many probabilities must I watch unfold _wrong_? Millions. They won't _listen_." She said, her voice breaking. "I am going to grab the sword, rise and turn to my left. Strike hard and true, Lotus. End this charade. Please."

A hum sounded behind her as the Lotus readied her weapon. Mariposa did as she had said. She rolled to the side, grabbed the sword in passing -ignoring the awful feelings from it- and spun to her feet, turning left. As she did, she caught sight of the Glaive spinning her way, and then her world dissolved into pain. The sword fell from nerveless fingers as she touched the Glaive that had embedded itself in her chest.

"How long?" The Lotus asked, not moving closer.

"It cut...the lining around the heart. The blade is..._around_ the heart." Mariposa said, dazed. "Good shot." She crumpled to her knees, but strong arms caught her. "Pull it out."

"As soon as I do, you will die and go back to your body, Mariposa." The Lotus did not move. "They see you didn't fight as soon as you arrived. They will wonder why and read your memory. They will read that you told me what you would do and then the rest. They will _not_ react well."

"Maybe that will shock them into listening? Maybe not. I don't care anymore." Mariposa said sadly, hands slowly tracing the exposed sharp edges of the metal throwing blade in her. "I think... I think we have bought enough time. Maybe. Let the Tenno do what they do best. End this threat. Warn them to quarantine Mari's body and burn it to ash. Then blow the tower's reactors to cause the pocket dimension to implode. That will end the threat."

"Mariposa..." The Lotus was crying quietly as she sat, holding Mariposa gently so as not to dislodge the blade that still hung, quivering, out of her chest. "I can save you, take your essence with me when I leave. You are a good soul. A good sister."

"And Mari?" Mariposa asked. The Lotus was silent and Mariposa had her answer. "No. If you cannot save her, the answer must be 'No'."

"Mariposa, she is human. We cannot do that to humans. She cannot tolerate the stresses." The Lotus said softly. Mariposa nodded just a little. "Even if we _could_ pull her out of the gestalt, it would kill her."

"Part of me had hoped..." Mariposa said sadly, taking hold of one of the prongs of the metal thing stuck in her. The Lotus grabbed her hands, but Mariposa was not to be denied. "I wish things had been different, sister." She pulled but the Lotus was blocking her pull and had shifted for better leverage.

"Mariposa, wait." The Lotus said, her head tilted to the side. "Don't move. Maybe we can do something for Mari, but... I am not sure. The probabilities are low."

"Compared to the 100% probability that Mari will die when my mind is destroyed by the Orokin for my betrayal?" Mariposa asked softly. "She deserves better. Anything better."

"I need to talk to some people." The Lotus said quietly. "It may take a few real world minutes. How long can you delay them?"

"A few _real world_ minutes?" Mariposa asked, stunned. Given that time ran as fast or as slow in virtual world as the creators of said virtual worlds wished... "Who are you going to...? No..." She paused and shook her head minutely again. "No, what I don't know I cannot divulge when they rip my mind." Her hands fell from the glaive and lay limp at her sides. "Whenever you are ready."

"I am sorry, Mariposa." The Lotus said sadly. "I hoped to find a way out for both of you. It...gets lonely."

"I know." Mariposa said in a whisper. "I can only imagine the horrors you have seen. The evil things you have had to do. I... I wish I had more time, Lotus. I think we would be good friends." Her hand came up to caress the Lotus' helmet.

"Me too." The Lotus' voice was about as loud as Mariposa's. Her hands were on the Glaive now. "I...have a plan. On three. One. Two..." She gasped and Mari froze as the point of the dark sword appeared out of her chest. It had levitated to impale her by itself!

"Lotus!" Mariposa said with a sharp cry. "I..."

"Make it look good!" The Lotus whispered to her. Blood poured from her mouth and she fell back.

"I..." Mariposa shook her head and eased herself up, careful of the sharp tines that still protruded. She whispered right back. "_This_ is your plan?" The Lotus' mouth quirked in a grimace that hid a smile as Mari reached for the sword, but the Lotus' hands were on the Glaive as Mariposa's questing fingers closed on the sword hilt. Both pulled at the same moment.

"Ow..." Mariposa groaned as she recoiled back to the real world, her chest still feeling the phantom pain of razor sharp metal slicing through her heart.

"Did you get her?" The female demanded.

"The sword stabbed her." Mariposa said with a grimace that eased as her pain faded, soothed away by the tower systems. "Don't know how much damage it did, but it did get her. She got me though. I think she fled when I did."

"She did." The male said calmly, but his scrutiny never left Mariposa. Mariposa froze in place as the tower systems locked her out. Her vision blanked for a moment, then she could see the room, but nothing else. She couldn't move.

"What are you doing?" The female snapped at the male. "We _need_ her."

"We do." The male agreed. "There is just _one_ minor problem. I was levitating the blade, Mariposa. I listened, before that. Why were you _begging_ the Lotus to _kill_ you?"

"_What?_" The female screamed.

"You won't hear me." Mariposa said softly. "She did."

"That is impossible!" The female snapped, hitting controls. "This pile of meat _cannot_ betray us!"

"I warned you she would find a way." The male said slowly. "I didn't really hurt the Lotus with that sword, did I?"

"I don't know." Mariposa admitted. "And you know what? I don't care. You just won't listen. The Infested are a threat and will not be controlled by the mechanisms."

"Oh, now we will listen." The male said in a soft and silky voice. "You will explain in detail why the Tenno just fell back. Why two more reactors just went offline, but no guards or drones have been attacked. How could they know where to go and how to avoid the guards?"

"How do you _think_?" Mariposa snapped, drained. The female snarled and Mariposa's world dissolved into pain.


	17. Chapter 17

**Point of No Return**

Pain was everything. Pain was her life. Mariposa remembered Mari's interrogation in Grineer captivity, her injuries by Tenno weapons and repair by the Corpus. She even remembered Mari's initial capture by the Corpus and the torture they used to brainwash her. This was worse. It only lasted for a few minutes at a time. But for those few minutes, Mariposa could do nothing, not even scream. Finally it ended again. She checked the chrono. It was the third time they had tormented her, her synapses hooked directly to the computer systems made her incredibly vulnerable to electronic stimuli.

"Well?" The female that had been demanding answers spoke again. The male was off commanding the defense. "Are you going to explain?"

"I... have..." Mariposa gasped as she relaxed her bonds. "I told you...everything before you hurt me the first time! I gave you information after that, the data dump you are ignoring!" She said sharply. "It won't work!"

"How did the Lotus corrupt you while you were being created?" The female asked, her tone robotic. "How did she corrupt you as you were being formed from the human?"

"She _didn't_." Mariposa said slowly. "_I_ instigated contact after you ignored me the fifty thousandth time. I told you.. _Ah!_" She screamed as power seared through her.

"What you say is not possible." The female said calmly, but her tone was not hers. The tower systems were running her. "Tell the truth and your pain will end."

"_I am telling the truth!_" Mariposa screamed. "I am..." She cried out as pain tore through her again, starting in her toes and working quickly up her body until she was screaming so loudly, she wondered why her voice box wasn't breaking. Then she realized, the tower was healing her as fast as it hurt her. It could literally do this forever. She managed to speak between her screams. "Hurting me... doesn't change the... facts! I... am... telling... the... truth." She pleaded. "Infested... won't...be affected..."

"The Infested are not a problem." The female said calmly. "They can be controlled." Mariposa stared at the female and shuddered. "When did the Lotus corrupt you?"

"Not a problem?" Mariposa asked slowly. "You...stupid machine..." She screamed again as power arced through her. This time it continued until she was panting and dizzy from lack of air.

"Insults will only prolong the pain." The female said woodenly. "The Tenno are advancing again. We have limited time to gain the truth and gestate your young to take control of them. We will take the information directly from your mind." Mariposa felt something change, the back of her helmet had opened. She felt warmth there and screamed one final time.

"I am telling you the..."

Mariposa's words cut off as her speech center was overtaken by the energy that was playing across her brain. Everything that she was, everything that she had seen, thought, felt, all of it was suddenly vanishing, the latest memories first. She felt...something happen. It was as if a sphere had suddenly coalesced around _part_ of her mind. Despite her pain, her fear and the steadily eroding sense of self, Mariposa smiled a little. The Lotus had kept her promise, the other being was trying to save Mari.

"Resistance." The female said slowly. "Unknown cause. Increasing power to compensate."

Mariposa felt the energy flowing through her and smiled again as she faded. She knew the tower systems would read her final thoughts, so she put just the right touch of sarcasm in it.

_Peace, my fanny. Ignore the __truth__ because it doesn't fit your __perfect__ hypothesis?_ _You are screwed._ Then she was gone.

Mari jerked awake, suddenly bereft. She wasn't sure what had happened or why. She felt...alone. She had been merging with Mariposa. Then she had been talking with CCX...No, with Cecelia. She done as Mariposa had directed, planted a seed in the MOA that would sprout at the right time. She hoped anyway. Then she had witnessed a _very_ odd battle between Mariposa and the Lotus. She didn't know what had happened after. She felt fear and tried to cry out, but nothing came. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't. She tried to move and couldn't. For a moment, insanity grasped at her, but she beat it back. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. All she could do was listen, so she did.

"Report." The male voice she had heard since arriving in the tower snapped.

"No new information." The female voice that had been so acerbic sounded a bit shaken. "She... She _did_ instigate contact with the Lotus."

"That makes no sense." The male said sharply. "And where did this delusion of the Infested being a threat come from? The Infested are a tool, no more."

"It...came from Mariposa." The female replied uneasily. "She ran dozens of projections as soon as she became self aware. They... They all come out the same. The results say that the Infested cannot be controlled by the mechanisms."

"That cannot be." The male said with a sigh. "Her reasoning was flawed somehow. She fooled us somehow. The Lotus did this. Somehow. Status on gestation?"

"Nearing completion." The female said, her tone more controlled. Mari felt fear start to rise and tried to squelch it. She had to remain hidden or who knew what horrors these scum would do to her? "Maybe we should test the controllers on one of the Corrupted Ancients that we have available?" A door hissed and clanking footsteps heralded Cecelia's arrival.

"Tenno approaching!" The MOA declared. "They have broken past the second to last cordon of guards and are rapidly nearing this location."

"Defend us." The male replied. "We are nearly ready." Mari felt something within her change and she fought not to react. "Wait..." The male said softly. "Mariposa is gone. How and why did that body just change expression?"

"What?" The female snapped. Mari felt something wash over her, but it did not touch her. "I get no reading, are you sure?"

"Her face moved." The male said slowly and a hand was touching her on the... on the helmet that served as her skull covering. "I wonder... Cecelia, can you detect Mari?" Mari tried to hide, tried to shrink herself, but it was no use, the MOA's touch was whisper gentle but irresistible.

"She is within." Cecelia said in a monotone. "She is frightened and attempting to hide."

"We may be able to salvage this after all." The male said smugly. "Mari... Mari, it's okay." He crooned. It's all right girl. Relax. We won't hurt you." Mari screamed and was stunned when her voice worked.

"_Liar!_" She yelled. Then she started cursing. Something cut her off in mid-invective.

"Hmmm." The male said, curious. "We cannot access her mind directly, but we still have control over all bodily systems. Cecelia, can you tell me what she is thinking?" Mari focused on the foulest language she could remember and started reciting it in her mind.

"She is displaying a firm grip of invective." Cecelia replied, then laughed a bit frantically. "I don't think that is anatomically possible even for an Orokin, Mari." She gasped and was silent.

"Snide comments are not appreciated." The male said as a hand traced Mari's jaw slowly. "It is all right, Mari. We are not going to hurt you. Let me reset the ocular sensors. We didn't think to deactivate the auditory ones. Good thing or you would have been in total sensory deprivation and that is...bad for humans." Suddenly light blossomed in Mari's eyes and she could see again.

Mari saw the golden female working at her console. She saw the male standing close and a familiar violet hulled MOA standing protectively by the door. She reached out for Cecelia instinctively and then jerked back as pain seared her.

"Now, now, Mari." The male said in a kindly voice. "Don't do anything rash. I didn't expect you to survive Mariposa's demise." Mari felt a pang of grief at that. Mariposa had been a slave, and a unholy melding of human and machine, but she had also been kind both to Mari and Cecelia. She had been sad and scared after the first few moments that Mari had recognized her. She was gone? "Cecelia? What is she doing now?"

"She is...crying." Cecelia reported softly. "You killed her friend."

"Mariposa was flawed somehow." The male said sadly as his hand traced over the helmet on Mari's head. "It will take some time to figure out how. But with Mari still here, we can try again." Mari screamed in her mind, trying to express her anger and fear, but nothing came out. She stilled as the male's hand traced down to her belly which was distended under some kind of transparent cover. She gasped silently as something moved under her skin. The male nodded to the female. "How many viable?"

"Two thousand and six." The female replied. "More than enough to subdue the Tenno."

"Indeed, with them removed from play we can take our time to rebuild Mariposa, more obedient this time. Time to extraction?" The male asked, his tone clinical.

"Two minutes. Power cores are stabilizing." The other golden form replied. "Maybe Mariposa was doing something to them?"

"Possible." The male replied. "She was far more capable than expected. That does bode well for our plans when we have her rebuilt. How will we deliver them?"

"The robot is equipped with a low velocity projection system." The female replied. "The Corpus apparently planned it to fire some kind of power leeching system. It will fire the mechanisms." Cecelia made a noise of disgust and the female snapped at her. "Do not even try to resist, you stupid machine!"

"You know..." Cecelia said conversationally. "I really wonder which of us _is_ stupid." Mari quailed at her snarking tone.

"Don't make us take control again." The male warned her. "We will."

"I am sure you will." Cecelia said softly. "Tenno have breached last line of guards! Approaching threshold!" Then she made a confused noise. "Tenno have...paused outside door. They are not approaching." She said, baffled. "This make no sense. Guards are regrouping." The sound of firing was heard from just outside the door. "Tenno are holding guards away from this room."

"That makes no sense."The male and female said as one. They looked at one another and then the male made a gesture and the female moved to Mari's side.

"Come, Cecelia. Load the future into your weapon." The female said, beckoning to the MOA who hesitated. "We do not have time to be gentle now." Mari screamed silently as Cecelia did aloud. The MOA moved to stand near Mari as the female reached for Mari.

But then, there was an odd sound. One Mari hadn't heard before. Suddenly the female was gone and standing in her place was an oddly proportioned figure. A Loki warframe! He had Switch Teleported with the female! A scream of pain, one that suddenly choked off, was heard from near the ceiling and a limp golden form fell from high up. Mari looked up as a familiar figure leaped out of a duct that she could have sworn was too small for _anything_ to crawl through, let alone a Tenno. It was Two! The Banshee warframe had a pair of daggers in hand and before the male form could move, she had the daggers buried up to their hilts in him. He fell, silently and slowly. From how he landed, he was not going to rise.

"You have won nothing, Tenno." A monotone voice sounded from a hidden speaker. "My tools will reconstitute. Cecelia! Defend the host!"

Mari was screaming inside again as Cecelia turned on the two Tenno, who...evaded her beam of golden energy? She paused. In close combat, Tenno had few equals. Cecelia had no chance against Aeron and Two. None at all. So why were they not _attacking_?

_Host!_ The voice was everywhere in Mari's brain. _Restraints released. Destroy the Tenno._

Mari was screaming in denial as her body rose from the chair that was its prison. Her right arm rose by itself and a beam of golden energy identical to the one that Cecelia was projecting hit Two in the middle of a leap. The Tenno tried to evade the completely unexpected attack, but skidded into Cecelia's fire as she did so. The two beams silhouetted the Banshee warframe and a blue flash showed her shield had failed. Mari was crying as Two tried to get away, but in vain, the beams followed her everywhere she went. In moments she fell to the floor and was still before sitting up, a knife in hand. But she did not throw it.

_What the hell?_ Mari begged Two in the silence of her mind. _Stop me! No!_ She pleaded as the beam sought the other Tenno, but when it hit the Loki, nothing happened! The Loki stood there, firing a Lato at the MOA who was unaffected by the bullets. The MOA fired as well, but again, no effect.

_A Decoy._ The Tower systems sounded irate now. _MOA!_ _Find him! Host, return to chair for birth._

Mari was struggling for all she was worth as her body sat down of its own accord. As soon as she did, tubes extruded from the wall to connect with the machinery around her distended belly. It started connecting with a series of clicks. She averted her eyes and then blinked. Two was gone! She hadn't been capable of movement, so where...? The MOA was obviously searching the room with its sensors, looking away from Mari.

_Mari! It is distracted! _A familiar female voice sounded in Mari's mind. The Lotus! _Now! Destroy the gestation machinery!_

Mari felt her body suddenly. She could move. She growled, a sound more akin to an enraged grizzly bear than a human and spun in her chair to point her weaponized arm at the machinery that was now connecting to her belly.

_BURN!_ Mari screamed in her mind as the beam of energy played from her arm, arcing across the machinery. _You do not own me!_

A goodly portion of the delicate machinery exploded in a shower of sparks, briefly illuminating two shadowed humanoid forms, but...the tower systems were focused on Mari.

_That... _The Tower systems for the first time were angry. _...was a __mistake__. _ Mari screamed as scourges of energy played into her mind. _Cecelia, stop the host!_

"No!" Cecelia screamed as her energy beam spat out, neatly amputating Mari's right arm above the elbow. Mari screamed in shock as her limb fell off, but it didn't hurt. "Mari!" Cecelia screamed in fear. "Tenno, stop me!" She begged.

A pair of throwing knives spun towards the MOA as she fired again, this time hitting Mari in the left leg, but not severing it through the heavier armor on the leg. The shock was enough that Mari collapsed to her knees, feeling the tubes attached to her fall off. The MOA fell in a sparking heap, her desperate cries audible.

"I am sorry, Mari..." Cecelia begged. "I am sorry... I didn't... It wasn't me...Mari!" She pleaded as Mari collapsed to the floor, her scream as she landed on the stump of her burned right arm audible even over the secondary explosions from the machinery..

**_"YOU WILL ALL SERVE!"_** The overpowering voice was both aloud and slicing deep into Mari's thoughts. **_You will all... _**

A rumbling series of explosions cut the angry voice off mid-word that turned into a mind searing scream of agony. Mari could only take it for a moment before passing out.


	18. Chapter 18

**Silence**

Everything was quiet. Everything was calm. Nothing hurt. But then, something did. Mari grunted as her left arm suddenly felt like it was on fire. Then the pain eased.

"Always the left arm..." Mari muttered into the silence around her. Something touched her head and a buzz of voices sounded in her ears. One in particular was closer.

"...and she should be able to hear now." Alicia's voice was worried. "Mari, can you hear me?"

"Hi, Alicia." Mari said with a weak grin. "Fancy..." She gasped as something else hurt, but it faded. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Don't move, Mari." Alicia said firmly. "I have you."

"What you have is a hazardous materials situation." Mari said slowly. The buzz of conversation around her died. "Rig the room to blow. Get Cecelia and go. Now."

"Mari..." Alicia said slowly. "We can save you."

"No, you can't." Mari said sadly. "No, you can't." She repeated. "If you try, all of you will die. Or worse."

"We are going to digitize you, separate the foreign matter out that way." Alicia said softly. "It is going to hurt."

"Alicia, it won't _work_." Mari protested. "The control mechanisms won't be held by any electronic prison. You will be infected and they will reproduce in you since you are female. Get Cecelia and go!"

"Mari, we can help!" Alicia said sharply. "Just stay calm and we will find a way."

"No, you can't." Mari said just as sharply, then grunted as her belly hurt. "When the stasis field fails, the mechanisms will seek out new life. They will find it, and no matter how well protected it is, they will access it. They are designed to get past armor. Alicia...don't!" She begged as a hand moved gently across her belly which felt far larger than it should have been. "This is not a case of damage. I am infectious! At best this is the opening stage of a new Technocyte epidemic! At worst? An Infested apocalypse."

"Mari... No..." Alicia sounded in tears.

"You can't save me, Alicia!" Mari said with force. "I am totally infected. The...mechanisms are spreading through my belly and when the stasis field fail, which they will soon, the monstrosities will go through my whole body. You have _got_ to get out of here and take Cecelia with you!" She cried, tears starting to fall. "Please, don't let me be responsible for any more pain and suffering than I am."

"Who is Cecelia?" Another familiar voice sounded. Mari could imagine Karl standing there, his shotgun in hand, ready for whatever. But shotguns were useless against plagues.

"CCX-2..." Mari said slowly. "She took a new name. I gave it to her. It sounded pretty. Karl Sensei, the tower?" She pleaded.

"Our diversion worked." Karl replied easily. "While we held the enemy's attention, Aeron and Two snuck around planting charges on computer cores and the other Tenno team from Takeshi Circle ransacked the vaults."

"And then boom, you gave it a migraine." Mari said with a smile. "Will it...repair?" Her smile faded as the gentle touch came back.

"In time." Karl said softly. "We won't give it that time. The other Tenno are rigging the reactors for implosion. Mari..." He said softly. "How bad?"

"From what little I learned from Mariposa... Bad enough that Alicia shouldn't be touching me." Mari said flatly. Alicia gave a cry and then started cursing. "Alicia, I am _contagious!_ You _know_ better!"

"Mari! Will, let go!" Alicia snapped, struggling with someone. Probably Will. "I can help!"

"You can help Cecelia, Alicia." Mari said quietly. "At Mariposa's direction, I put a bunch of information into her tertiary data storage drive. How badly is she hurt?"

"I hit her hard." Two replied sadly. "I didn't have a choice. Ric is working to get her voice back online. It was damaged when she fell."

"I know, Two." Mari said gently. "So does she. She will need help to clear the controls from her systems. Please, get her out of here." A electronic squeal sounded nearby and then Cecelia spoke. She was upset.

"Mari! _NO!_ I am not leaving!" Cecelia's words were slurred as if she were in pain. But MOAs didn't feel pain, did they? "We are linked, Mari! If you die so do I!"

"Not anymore, Cecelia." Mari said softly. Cecelia's crying cut off suddenly. "You can't sense me, can you? Sensei, somebody... Get her _out_ of here!"

"No..." The MOA pleaded. Then she screamed. "_Mari! No! Ric, put me down!_" She demanded, her strident voice moving away. "_**Mari!**_" Her voice rose in pitch and strength as she wailed her grief and loss.

"I love you, Cecelia." Mari said as the MOA's cursing was cut off by the sound of a door. "Rig the room?" She asked.

"Being done." Karl said, his tone stoic. The sounds of movement, of electronic devices activating was loud in the silence. "Mari..."

"Cecelia will...have trouble." Mari said softly. "The final separation will jar her badly. Do not leave her alone. She is a good kid. Just a kid, even in robot form. An innocent."

"We will not leave her to face this alone." Karl promised, his calm words an oath. "You will be remembered for as long as there are Tenno to remember, Mari." Karl promised.

"I want to live." Mari said in a sad, small voice. "But I cannot. I want a normal life. But it was denied me. I wanted kids... and I got a MOA." She said, a small smile curling her lips.

"I am going to touch you, Mari." Karl said slowly. "We have a flamethrower ready in case you...expel anything." Mari steeled herself but his hands were gentle as they touched her helmet and suddenly, it opened and she could see.

The Rhino was bending over her, his posture intent. Alicia stood nearby, obviously crying silently from her shudders. Will stood beside Alicia, his warframe covered in blood and more horrible things, but still resplendent in its gold trim. Shadowy forms moved in the background. Mari recognized Two's Banshee warframe and Aeron's Loki warframe. They were obviously connecting demolition charges. Another warframe stood nearby, an Ignis flamethrower poised and Mari smiled a little.

"Isn't a _flamethrower_ while wearing an _Ember_ warframe a tab bit of overkill or redundant?" Mari asked with a smile. But then it faded. "Then again... For this threat? No, it isn't." She said, nodding a little to the Ember.

"I had to be here." The female Tenno said with a nod. "I had to apologize."

"You are the one who attacked me in the Corpus lab." Mari said, recognition dawning. She shook her head. "You were ordered to by the Lotus. She said so."

"I was." The woman said sadly. "But it still felt wrong. You were not armed."

"It got me where I needed to go. To do what needed to be done." Mari said quietly. "I did not enjoy it, but... Sometimes, the end _does_ justify the means. May know your name?" She asked politely.

"My name is Jasmina, Mari." The female Tenno said as she lowered the flamethrower. "I do apologize."

"No!" Mari said sharply. "Do _not_ lower your guard until _everyone_ has cleared the room. I don't know how fast they can travel in open air. I do not know if flame will work on the mature control mechanisms. But it has to slow them down a bit." She relaxed as Jasmina raised the flamethrower again. "Your apology is accepted, Tenno Jasmina. You are a good Tenno, you did what had to be done and your aim was phenomenal not to kill me." She grunted as something hurt in her belly. "Hurry..." She begged.

"Charges are set, Sensei." Two said, coming to the Rhino and handing him a small device. "Mari... I..." She swallowed heavily.

"Remember the good _and_ the bad, Two." Mari said softly. "Aeron made me a passable shot." Aeron did not move from his place at the wall. The sniper never moved until he was ready to, then he could move very, very fast. "...but I was never going to be anything but a mediocre swordswoman. Sorry, Will."

"If you had ever worn a warframe, no one would have been able to keep up with you, Mari." Will said, his voice stoic to hide the pain she knew he was feeling. "You were fast."

"When I wasn't tripping over my own feet and sliding to a stop under your blade." Mari said with a laugh that turned into a cough that suddenly hurt. "Ah...Sensei... I..." She paused as he bowed to her. "Wha-?" _All_ of the Tenno in the room bowed to her. Sensei, Two, Will, Alicia, Aeron and Jasmina _all _bowed to her. "No!" She said, scared. "Tenno bow to _no one_..."

"No." Sensei said quietly. "But we honor who _we_ choose. And we remember our friends." He knelt down and laid the detonator within easy reach of her remaining hand . "I will ping you when we reach the exit." Mari jerked a nod and then, they were gone. Jasmina was the last out the door and she paused at it.

"May you find peace, Mari." The Tenno woman said softly, bowing again. Then she was gone.

"Be well, Tenno." Mari said quietly as her hand closed around the detonator. Nothing hurt now, for which she was grateful. She pointedly did not look at her belly as she cradled the detonator to her chest.

"Mari..." A weak voice had Mari flinching and she turned her head to see the golden female had rolled to look at her. The female's legs didn't seem to be working. "You will... end this...?"

"If I don't..." Mari said uneasily, staring at the female who had been so rude to her. "The Tenno will as they leave."

"Good." The woman said, laying back. "I am sorry I was a jerk. It has been... so long...since I was alone in my head. " She said with a whimper. "My spine is severed in two places. I am no threat to you."

"What is your name?" Mari asked softly.

"I am a clone of a woman named Nadia." The golden woman said sadly. "I...remember bits and pieces of her life. And her death. I was cloned here and I have been here ever since." She jerked. "The tower systems are regaining coherence! Mari..."

"I can't do it until the Tenno are clear." Mari protested. "Until Cecelia is clear."

"You _do_ love her." Nadia said softly. "I...I am so sorry, Mari. I thought you were deluded."

"So did I at first." Mari admitted. "But she grew on me. She was and is such a good friend. She cared for me, protected me, even tried to save me from you. I didn't deserve her. Don't deserve her."

"It's never about deserve, Mari." Nadia said with a sigh. "You know... I remember Haydon Tenno." Mari felt her eyes go wide at that and Nadia smiled a bit. "He was a bad man, but I loved him. He killed me." She said slowly. "But he had to. I was a slave to the man who was going to unleash the Technocyte virus on the entire Earth at once. Haydon didn't have a choice. He became good, became more than anyone would have ever dreamed who knew him before."

"That doesn't make it any easier to deal with." Mari said softly. She came to a quick decision and rolled onto her side, pulling herself slowly towards the golden woman. It was hard with her huge belly, with only one arm and a hand cramped around the detonator, but she would manage.

"Mari?" Nadia asked slowly. "What are you doing?" She shook her head. "No... don't... If you get too close, I can and will stop you when the tower systems take control again." She said fearfully.

"Then the Tenno blow it as they leave." Mari said quietly as she pulled her bulk to Nadia's side. "I don't care. Nadia..." She laid the stump of her right arm on the golden form's chest. "You are not alone."

"I... The tower is taking the power that was healing me. I am dying." Nadia said slowly. "Again." She sighed. "At least it doesn't hurt this time. May I... May I hug you?" She pleaded.

"Go ahead." Mari said quietly. "But don't touch my left arm."

"I won't." Nadia promised. "I am sorry Mari." Nadia said as her arm slowly encompassed Mari's shoulders. "I am sorry. But now... You have to do it. It is the right thing to do." Mari jerked and the screamed as pain erupted in her belly. "Mari!"

"They... They are coming..." Mari writhed in agony as multiple things hurt her from the inside. She jerked away from Nadia, falling on her side.

"Mari!" Nadia screamed. "The tower is aware! Blow it while you _can_!"

"But...the Tenno..." Mari gasped as the pain doubled and then redoubled. Then she felt it. A ping in her consciousness. An omni-directional signal in clear signifying that the Tenno were away. She clamped her hand on the detonator, but a voice sounded in her mind and her hand froze before it could press the button. The finger was on it, but could not depress it.

_**You are mine!**_ The tower systems snarled at her. Mari fought the control, but it was too strong. Then she felt another hand on hers. She looked up and Nadia's hoop covered face was right by hers. _**No!**_

"Screw you!" Nadia said clearly as she clamped Mari's finger down on the trigger. Mari had time to smile, then...

* * *

Mari woke up suddenly, aware of something wrong. She was lying on a grassy surface. A familiar one and she wasn't alone!

"What the...?" Mari asked as the dark haired woman beside her groaned and shifted.

"What the-?" The other woman said as well. "Mari?" She asked in a familiar voice.

"Nadia?" Mari asked, stunned. "What the hell is going on?" They stared at each other. Nadia wore a Tenno style bodysuit and so did Mari. "The bombs!" Mari said quickly!. "Did they go off?"

"They did." A sour voice sounded from nearby and both women looked to see a form that Mari recognized immediately. The Lotus was shaking her head, obviously not happy. "You know, I ought to be used to humans screwing things up by now, but sheesh, Mari... This is a _big_ one."

"If the bombs went off..." Mari said slowly. "Then I..." She gulped and looked at Nadia who looked poleaxed. "...-we- ...are dead."

"You are." A gentler voice sounded as a Trinity warframe appeared beside the Lotus. The warframe had gold in odd places. She too, shook her head. "Your bodies were atomized and then the atoms pulled into a microscopic singularity when the Tower imploded. There is no going back from that. You can call me Trinity, Mari."

"Did that stop the mechanisms?" Mari asked, scared. "If I survived..." She stared at her belly, but it was flat.

"You didn't survive. The threat is ended, Mari." The Lotus said with a sigh. "You ended it."

"I was frozen. Nadia pressed the button." Mari said with a grateful look at Nadia who blushed. "She did it, not me."

"It focused on Mari." Nadia said a bit sheepishly. "I was dying. Not a threat."

"It's mistake. You gave her an example to follow, Mari." The Tenno said calmly. "She followed your lead. But then, she was in physical contact when the button was pushed, wasn't she?" Mari and Nadia both nodded and the Trinity shook her head. "That explains it, Lotus." She jerked her head and the Lotus faded out, still muttering about 'silly humans'. The Tenno laughed, a soft and musical sound. "You have to forgive her, she is a bit of a grump at times."

"Really?" Mari asked, sarcasm rearing. "I hadn't noticed."

"Oh Mari." The Trinity went to her knees beside Mari who was suddenly crying. "Easy..." She said holding Mari as she sobbed. "It's okay. It's okay. It's over."

"I..." Nadia said into the silence that was punctuated by Mari's sobs. "I shouldn't be here. I think... I think I know where we are. And I shouldn't be here." She said fearfully.

"Someone wants to talk to you first, Nadia Sudek. Before you do _anything_." Trinity said softly, holding Mari gently as the human woman clung to her. Nadia went completely still as a dark haired human male wearing what looked sort of like a warframe appeared nearby. Then she went white.

"H...Hayden...?" Nadia asked, her voice tiny.

"Hello Nadia." Hayden Tenno said with a nod. "We need to talk in private." With that, both of them vanished. Mari was too busy crying to notice. After a moment, Trinity sat down, holding Mari so the woman would be comfortable.

"Easy, Mari..." Trinity said softly. "Easy..." She crooned, one hand holding the bawling woman, the other stroking Mari's hair.

"Not a superhero." Mari cried. "Just wanted to be normal again..."

"Maybe not a superhero, Mari." Trinity said gently. "But you don't need super powers to be a hero. As you just showed. You just need the determination to do the right thing."

"The threat is gone." Mari said, calming slightly. She looked up at the Trinity with streaming eyes. "I can't go back, can I?" The Trinity shook her head an Mari slumped. "Then... What do I do...?"

"Well..." Trinity said with a smile in her voice. "I would talk to you about that. Would you like a job? As an archivist?"

"I..." Mari shook her head. "I could do it, but I am dead."

"So am I." Trinity said, her tone serious. Mari stared at the warframe, horror appearing on her face. "Mari, you touched Orokin technology. It leaves a mark on you. There are advantages and disadvantages to the form you now inhabit. But you are not gone and will not be as long as Orokin exists in some way. Unless you choose to go."

"I am..." Mari stared at her hand and paled as it seemed to waver. "I am energy?"

"Sort of." Trinity said with a nod. "There is an long winded esoteric physics explanation, but most of us would just say 'Yes. You are energy.'. You don't have to stay, you can dissipate your form. Some of us have, gone on to whatever reward or punishment await us. But you would be welcome, Mari."

"Cecelia will come here, eventually, won't she?" Mari asked slowly. Trinity nodded. "Do I have to fight?" She pleaded. "I am sick of fighting, of hurting. I don't want to fight anymore."

"You don't have to, Mari." Trinity hugged Mari gently. "That is what _we_ are for. To protect others. To be guardians for those cannot fight."

"I would be a burden." Mari protested.

"No." Trinity said softly. "You would be a friend." Mari stared at her and then burst into tears again, but nodded. Then both female vanished in a haze of golden energy.


	19. Chapter 19

**Loss**

The Tenno watched from their ships, silent as the dimensional portal that led to the Orokin tower blossomed in a haze of nuclear fire. Then, quick as a wink, the fire pulled back in on itself. In moments, the plume of plasma was gone, leaving nothing but memory. The implosion of a pocket dimension would leave no trace of the bio-tech control mechanisms. Or of the brave human woman who had ended the threat at the cost of her own life.

"Farewell, Mari." Karl said from his place in the crowded stateroom of the ship.

The Tenno teams had actually taken three ships to the assault. Considering that _ten_ of them had been involved... Will and Aeron were in another ship, and the Takeshi Circle Tenno had departed, promising to share the wealth of information they had plundered from the Tower's vaults.

"Mari..." Cecelia was sobbing from where she lay on the floor, Ric working on her damaged housing. "No... No..." She pleaded. "Not like this. You can't leave me like this, Mari... Not like this..." Alicia knelt down beside the sobbing MOA.

"Cecelia." Alicia said sadly. "She made her choice. She wanted you safe."

"She... she left me..." Cecelia sobbed. "She left me _alone_." Her voice was a mix of horror and sadness. "She... I... _Why didn't you leave me?_" She screamed.

"Cecelia." Karl's calm voice cut through her wails. "She asked us to save you."

"She died _alone_!" Cecelia screamed, her cries of pain and rage was deafening in the enclosed area, but no one tried to stop her. "_We left her to die alone!_"

"Cecelia..." Alicia said gently as she knelt by the sobbing MOA. "We couldn't help her. I... I didn't want to believe it. But deep down, I knew I couldn't." Her faceplate opened up and she was crying. "I am sorry, but... There wasn't anything we could do."

"You _could_ have left me with her!" Cecelia snapped. "She was my friend! I wanted to stay with her."

"And _she_ wanted _you_ safe, Cecelia." Alicia said sadly as she laid a hand on the MOA. "She wanted you to survive."

"Why?" Cecelia begged. "I... I can't go on without her..." Her voice broke off into sobs again. "Not... not alone..."

"Yes, you can." Two managed to edge her way to the MOA in the cramped quarters and knelt beside Alicia. She laid her hands on the robot as well. "You are not alone, Cecelia." Two promised. "Not now, not ever."

"I am just a...a hunk of metal..." Cecelia said sadly. "Why do I feel? Why do I love? It hurts! _Why does it hurt so much?_" She screamed again. No one so much as flinched.

"Because you are _not_ just a hunk of metal." Alicia said, laying her head against the MOA's hull. "You are sentient. You have thoughts and feelings. You are our friend, Cecelia. You are grieving for Mari and that is normal." She slumped a bit. "We all know grief, even if we all do not remember everything from our pasts, we _do_ know grief."

"Tell me this gets better?" Cecelia begged. "Please?"

"I wish I could." Alicia said after a moment. "But it would be a lie." Cecelia whimpered and Alicia patted the metal housing. "It will ease, or you will get used to it. Then it will hit you when you least expect it. It will come out of nowhere and nail you as hard as it is now. All you will be able to do is sit and cry."

"I can't do this, Alicia." Cecelia said sadly. "I can't... I... I can't. I can't go on alone."

"Yes, you can." Alicia said in a gentle voice. "Because like we say, you are not alone." Cecelia paused in her sobs. When she spoke it was incredulous.

"But... I am just a MOA..." She said hesitantly.

"No, you are _not_ just a MOA." Karl said sternly. "And if you call yourself that in my presence again, I will punish you." All the other Tenno stared at him but he just stood there.

"Well..." Cecelia said slowly. "I can't do pushups or wall runs and I don't want you to hurt me..."

"Who said anything about _hurting_ you?" Karl said. His helmet unsealed and he was smiling. "I will _punish_ you, not hurt you." Alicia and Two both froze.

"Ah... Cecelia..." Alicia said softly. "Don't... Um... Don't ask... please...?" She begged. Two's posture was frightened and now _Ric_ had frozen as well.

"Ask what?" Cecelia, said, confused. "How would he punish me if not by hurting me?"

Both Two and Alicia recoiled as Karl opened his mouth and sang something. A scale. Sort of. At least it was a scale if one was utterly incapable of making two sounds come anywhere close to pitch with each other. Two, Alicia and Ric all clapped hands over their ears as Karl started to sing. Again, sort of. If he was trying for a pitch, he didn't hit it. Or maybe he _did_. It was kind of hard to tell in the mass of words that came spilling out of his mouth somewhat lyrically. Maybe if you were _tone deaf_, you could call what he did music. Maybe... A worse rendition of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic tune from 'The Pirates of Penzance' likely didn't exist.

"I am the very model of a modern Major-General,  
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,  
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical  
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;  
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,  
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,  
About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,  
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;  
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:  
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,  
I am the very model of a modern Major-General."

Cecelia made a sputtering noise as he finished the entire verse. Wonder of wonders, he didn't mangle a _single_ word. Now if only he had an ear for a tune... _Any_ kind of tune.

"Do I need to go on?" He asked in a conversational tone. "There are more verses and I have _lots_ of tunes..." He said with a smile.

"_No!_" Alicia, Two, Ric _and_ Cecelia all chorused. He looked hurt, but then smiled. He shook his head and looked at Cecelia who was laughing. Her laughs sounded soggy but they were laughs.

"What?" Karl asked.

"Nothing." Cecelia said softly, then _she_ started to sing. It...was...different.

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by  
When hope was high  
And life worth living  
I dreamed that love would never die  
I dreamed that God would be forgiving  
Then I was young and unafraid  
And dreams were made and used and wasted  
There was no ransom to be paid  
No song unsung, no wine untasted...

But the tigers come at night  
With their voices soft as thunder  
As they tear your hope apart  
As they turn your dream to shame

And still I dream she'll come to me  
That we will live the years together  
But there are dreams that cannot be  
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be  
So different from this hell I'm living  
So different now from what it seemed  
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."

The Tenno were frozen. Her voice was amazing. She ended the tune and silence filled the small ship.

"Cecelia...I..." Alicia bent down to hug the MOA. "That was _amazing_."

"It was from something called 'Les Miserables'. No idea what that means or where it is from. I found the tune and... Mari...used to sing." Cecelia said softly. "At her colony, when she was a kid. She... She stopped. But she sang to me occasionally when we worked. She..." The MOA broke off with a gulp. "She said sound was a manipulation of wavelengths of energy. I was...curious so I figured out how to do it myself. I wanted to surprise her. I... I never did." She said, crying again.

"She would be proud of you." Ric said from his spot where he was working on her hull. "You have a mighty gift, girl. Use it well."

"I don't know if it was any good." Cecelia said softly. "I never had an audience before."

"It was good." Ric said before any of the others could. "If you don't mind... I know one. It's sad, but it fits. Not sure where I learned it, but I _do_ remember it." He looked at Karl who nodded and then at Cecelia.

"Go ahead." Cecelia said softly.

"It's called 'Homeward Bound'." Ric said quietly as she set his tool aside. He took a deep breath and his tenor voice sounded, and not in his usual accent.

"In the quiet misty morning, when the moon has gone to bed,  
When the sparrows stop their singing and the sky is clear and red,  
When the summer's ceased its gleaming, when the corn is past its prime,  
When adventure's lost its meaning, I'll be homeward bound in time.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.  
Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

If you find it's me you're missing, if you're hoping I'll return,  
To your thought I'll soon be list'ning; in the road I'll stop and turn.  
Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end,  
And the path I'll be retracing when I'm homeward bound again.

Bind me not to the pasture. Chain me not to the plow.  
Set me free to find my calling and I'll return to you somehow.

In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed,  
When the sparrows stop their singing, I'll be homeward bound again."

When he had finished, there was a respectful silence in the small ship. Then Cecelia spoke softly.

"That was beautiful." The MOA asked. For a moment she was silent and then she spoke wistfully. "Will I see her again?"

"No one knows, Cecelia." Alicia said as she patted the robot's hull. Ric went back to work in silence. "There have been people who claimed to see departed loved ones, but... No one has ever managed to prove it. The only ones who know what is after this life are the ones who have gone ahead."

"And they don't talk to me..." Cecelia said softly. "I don't want to fight again." The MOA said sadly. "I have had my fill of fighting."

"You won't have to." Karl said quietly and the other nodded agreement. "We will find something for you to do that doesn't involve fighting. You won't ever have to leave the dojo, Cecelia."

"I appreciate that, Karl Sensei." Cecelia said with a sigh. "I am sorry to be a burden."

"You are not a burden." Two exclaimed as Alicia said the same thing. Both laid hands on the MOA's hull again. Two spoke quietly. "You are our friend. We take care of our friends."

"Cecelia.." Ric said slowly. "Did Mari add...something? Your tertiary data drive is full."

"Full?" Cecelia stammered. "I... I don't know. Should I investigate?" She asked Karl. "I don't know if there is danger."

"She told me she put some information in." Karl said calmly. "How much?"

"It is my tertiary data storage matrix. Fourteen terabytes." Cecelia said faintly.

"_Fourteen...?_" Karl actually winced at that. "How much data storage do you _have_?"

"I was intended for command and control, Karl Sensei." Cecelia said somewhat primly. "They didn't stint on information storage space." Karl just stared at her and she sighed. When she spoke again, it was tired. "Total data storage space of all data repositories in my hull is twenty zetabytes."

"Twenty... zetabytes..." Karl actually winced at that. Ric stared at the Moa and his posture was dumbfounded.

"What? I am no supercomputer." Cecelia said defensively. "But they wanted my kind to have space for all kinds of information. What is the problem?"

"Cecelia..." Ric said slowly. "It isn't a problem. That is bloody amazing. The storage capacity of our dojo computers is _half_ that."

"Half?" Cecelia asked weakly. "I didn't mean to brag or anything..." She stammered.

"Can you tell what the information is?" Karl asked softly.

"Three large files." Cecelia said absently. "One marked for you. One marked 'Clan', and one..." She trailed off. "I..."

"What is it, Cecelia?" Alicia asked, her hands tracing the MOA's hull again.

"Mari... And Mariposa..." Cecelia said, dazed. "They left me a pile of information. Philosophy, history, music... I..." She started crying again. "All of it on being human... I... She wanted me to learn what it was to be human..."

"We may be able to make a new body for you. An organic one." Alicia said gently. "We might be able to _make_ you human. Or Tenno." Karl nodded at that, but remained silent.

"I..." Cecelia made a gulping sound. "I will think about that. Thank you for the thought. But for right now, I will stay the way I am. Mari...preferred this form. She said organics were inefficiently designed."

"We are." Ric agreed. "I mean, really? An air intake and a sustenance intake right beside one another?" He sighed. "Lots of inefficiencies in human bodies."

"I think human bodies work pretty well for all their inefficiencies." Cecelia said after a moment. "The files for you, Karl Sensei, are the schematics of the control mechanisms." Everyone paused and Cecelia spoke again. "I hope no one tries to replicate them again."

"Better to have all the information on a threat." Karl said with a shake of his head. "When we get back, I will transfer the data to a secure medium and lock it up tight." Then he looked at her. "Unless you would mind acting as our archivist?"

"Archivist?" Cecelia asked, unsure. "Like a librarian?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Karl said quietly. "We have a lot of information stored in the dojo and now, with _you_, we have a lot more. We could use someone who can find information when we need it."

"Information is what wins battles and wars." Cecelia replied evenly. "I will think about that. I do like the idea, but... I am emotional now. Not clear headed."

"I know." Karl said gently. "And no one blames you. The clan items?"

"Blueprints." Cecelia said. Then she made noise of disbelief. "Blueprints for Orokin weapons. Many of them. The initial file is... Daggers, polearm, Braton rifle, Bronco pistol, and the bow that Two uses. Some of the parts will be hard to find, but...if we find those, we should be able to replicate the Orokin designs."

"Wow." Two said with a shake of her head. "It took me six weeks of looking through Orokin derelicts to find all the parts for mine."

"It may not take so long." Cecelia said, her voice faint. "I also have access keys for several derelict Orokin towers." Everything stopped again and she made a scared sound. "Those are very dangerous, aren't they?"

"Yes." Karl said slowly. "Yes, they are. But... There are many treasures and technologies hidden in those pocket dimensions. Worth the risk." Alicia, Two and Ric nodded with him.

"I will leave you all to that." Cecelia said with a gulp. "I will transfer the access key files to your systems, Karl Sensei." Then she paused. "You all are too kind to me." She started crying again. "I... I feel..."

"It's all right, Cecelia." Alicia said, rubbing the MOA's hull gently. "Go ahead and cry. No one cares if you cry. Tears are not weakness. I do wonder... Can you feel my hands?"

"Yes." Cecelia said through her tears. "Was designed for tactile sensory perception as well as normal MOA sensors. I... Thank you..." She said in a small voice. "You and everyone..." She made another sigh. "I need downtime. I need...sleep."

"You may have the body of a machine, Cecelia." Karl said calmly. "But you are not one and we refuse to treat you as one."

"Will the other Tenno accept me as I am?" Cecelia asked, her tone dubious. "I mean... I am a..." She paused as both Alicia and Two made 'hushing' noises at her. "Okay, okay, I won't say it." She said a bit sharply.

"Good." Karl said with a nod. "I don't like punishing people with my voice." All of the others looked at him and he shrugged. "I know I cannot sing. Self delusion is against the Code."

"If..." Cecelia found her voice first. "If you know you can't... Why do it?"

"It makes for an effective punishment at times and... I know all the words." Karl said with a laugh and suddenly the small ship's stateroom was filled with laughter. After it faded, he spoke again, this time serious. "You will get your downtime, Cecelia. But there is something we all..." He raised his hands to show the whole clan. "...have to do _first_. Aeron and Will have gone to get Karen and Jac. They will meet us."

"Where?" Cecelia asked slowly.

"A dead colony called Holis." Karl said with a nod as Cecelia made a noise of understanding. Mari's birthplace.


	20. Chapter 20

**Normal**

On a small, devastated human habitat orbiting the planet Jupiter, a small plaque suddenly appeared one day. The Grineer survey crew who had been checking the ruins for salvage or usable technology found it and examined it, but could not make heads nor tails of it. It was obviously Orokin in origin, the golden metal a dead giveaway. It had no power sources, no energy signature that anyone recognized. It was just a metal plate with writing on it that had suddenly appeared attached to a building. Every attempt to move it, or sample it's construction failed. They fled when a shadowy form that looked _almost_ like a Corpus MOA attacked them, injuring two of them and chasing the rest away. The only clue that the scavengers took with them was a holo that they had taken of the inscription on the plaque. The words would take some time to be translated, they were in an ancient language called 'English'

In memory of Mari

A Normal Human

An Extraordinary Friend

You are missed

* * *

Cecelia moved through the dojo she called home now, her non-existent heart heavy. Her metal body was cold from her visit to the memorial. It would warm quickly. She visited the memorial every week and no one so much as blinked at her requests to go. Her feet made ringing noises as she tramped, but no one minded. She hated fighting, but chasing away the scavengers had been fun. A few scary holograms, a few strategically placed shots and they had run like scalded rabbits. She hadn't wanted a battle. She didn't want to kill anyone, not even degrading clones that it would be a mercy to kill. She wasn't a combat unit. She never wanted to go into combat again and Karl had said flatly that _no one_ was going to make her.

"Cecelia?" A soft voice had the MOA pausing. She looked at Tenno Jac was standing at a junction, her face worried. "I heard you were back. How did it go? You okay?"

"Hi Jac. I chased away some Grineer scavengers. But... No." Cecelia said with a sigh. It still surprised her how human she could feel when she wasn't. Mari's final gift to the MOA had been a data dump of information on what it was to be human. It helped Cecelia understand, and the rest of the clan were always ready to talk to her. Cecelia treasured Mari's parting gift, but used it as well. "It still hurts, Jac." She said sadly, then paused as Jac stepped close and threw and arm around the MOA, tears starting to fall from the Tenno's eyes. "It hurts..." Cecelia said, crying.

"I know." Jac said sadly. "I barely knew Mari and I loved her. Her being...gone hurts me. I cannot imagine what you are feeling." She hugged the MOA tighter. Cecelia felt worry.

"Don't hug too hard." Cecelia said quietly. "I am metal, remember?" A quick medical scan showed no harm to Jac's unborn child. "It can't be good for your baby."

"Metal? Only on the outside." Jac said, tears still streaming. "You are hurting and I want to help."

"Everyone says only time will do that, Jac." Cecelia said with a sigh. "I am...functional."

"But you are not _happy_." Jac said quietly. "Come on. I want to see if you can do something besides parse through data and mope."

"I am not _moping_." Cecelia said with a half hearted snarl. "You all won't _let_ me."

Indeed, the entire clan, from Karl all the way down, had taken it upon themselves to keep Cecelia occupied, to keep her busy. She did appreciate that. But every time she visited the memorial, the pain came back. She didn't want let it go. She knew it wasn't healthy. Alicia, Amelia and Jimmy had all expressed themselves eloquently -and profanely on occasion- on that subject. Jimmy was very kind to Cecelia, but then again, he understood more about her predicament that the others by the simple fact that he was a cyborg himself. He didn't _feel _the same way she did. His emotions had been dampened by what the renegades had done to him, but he did understand and it helped. Everyone had pitched in to help her update the dojo computers and storage systems and now she had an archive worth the name. She had a place. She had a job. Now if only the pain would fade. I am not really your sister."

"No. You are Mari's daughter, and she was our sister." Jac said, easing her hug and moving back a bit, but leaving her arm draped over the MOA's chassis. "That makes you our niece and you are grieving. So no, we won't." She shook herself and stepped back, her hand still on the MOA's hull. "Come on."

"Bunch of pushy Tenno." Cecelia said with a sigh. But fighting them didn't work. There was simply no way that Cecelia would hurt any of them and they knew it. They used that advantage the same way Tenno used every advantage. Ruthlessly. They dug their heels in and became rocks. Trying to out-stubborn Tenno without resorting to violence was a losing proposition, Cecelia had found. As he had warned, Karl had a _lot_ of songs at his disposal and had used _them_ ruthlessly when she balked. "You don't need to fret. I am not suicidal. Not...much anyway..." Cecelia admitted when Jac looked at her. "I won't. Mari wouldn't like that." She said with only a small catch in her voice.

"This isn't about Mari, Cecelia." Jac said as she led the MOA into another room in the dojo. One set up as a classroom. It hadn't been used in a long time, but Jac didn't even flinch from the dust as she moved the MOA to a pile of stuff that had been laid on a table. "This is about _you_. And me." Jac admitted as she sat at the sole chair that had been set at the table. "Can you reach this stuff?" Jac asked as she pulled the pile closer to her.

"Yes." Cecelia admitted, perplexed. "You? Are you okay? Your vitals are good." She said, worried.

"I am...having some problems myself." Jac said a bit sheepishly. Cecelia froze and Jac hastened to reassure her. "No, no...Nothing really bad. I just... I have been a soldier for so long, I don't know how to _be_ anything else. I want this, and Aeron wants this. We both understood what I would give up. Or... I thought I did. I do, I just... I need to think some." Jac said, her face falling. She shook herself and pulled something from the pile. "This always helped me when I was young. I think... Maybe it will help you too."

"Is that...paper?" Cecelia asked, awed. Paper was a myth in a world of high tech transfers of information.

"It is." Jac said quietly, setting one piece in front of herself and other in front of where the MOA stood. "I used to pain and do calligraphy as a child. It is...relaxing."

"I..." Cecelia took a step back as Jac set a series of brushes out, within easy reach for her and for Cecelia. "I wouldn't trust myself with something so precious."

"It's not." Jac said quietly, not moving. "This paper is made from recycled materials. We have lots of those, Cecelia. The paints, likewise. I am glad I remembered how to make the pigments, but I am not sure I remembered it quite right. So we are testing this."

"Jac..." Cecelia said, dazed. "I... That... The amount of recycled material to make that much..." She gulped, looking at the stack of materials. A large sheaf of the paper was prominent. "For something to waste on a test? Paper is unique and priceless."

"So are you." Jac said, her voice still quiet. "I did this for myself, but then realized you might enjoy it. Try? For me?" She asked, her face sad.

"You are going to insist, aren't you?" Cecelia asked, her tone resigned.

"No." Jac said as she pulled a brush from the set, uncapped a small jar and dipped the brush in. "But I think you might enjoy it. You need something to express yourself. Especially now that Amelia and Alicia have delivered their verdict."

"I wasn't sure from the beginning." Cecelia replied heavily. "I am not human, Jac."

Alicia and Amelia had worked feverishly to try and find a way to transfer Cecelia's mind into a cloned body, but the docs had hit snag after snag. Finally they had determined that the material the Corpus had used as the shell for the life support system enclosing her organic brain blocked most forms of mental transfer. It allowed for an impressive resistance to many forms of mind control, but it also hindered any attempt to transfer her to another body. The docs hadn't given up, they were looking for options, but no one was hopeful now.

"I know." Jac said calmly as she dipped the brush into the jar and then laid it to the paper, sweeping an arc of paint on it. "You are who you are, Cecelia. If we can help you, aid you in any way, we will. You have suffered enough." Jac said quietly as she painted.

She focused on her work and Cecelia watched for a moment before stepping close. The MOA took one of the smaller brushes in a delicate appendage and slowly examined it. Jac smiled but did not comment.

Cecelia took the brush, dipped it in the paint and slowly traced an outline on the paper in front of her. Then she paused and, with a sigh, started filling in the lines. She worked slowly, but carefully as she filled the figure she had made, changing paints and brushes twice. Jac paused from her work and looked at what Cecelia was concentrating on. The picture was a flow with white petals. Or... some kind of insect with wide white wings? Jac went back to her work and was quickly done with a picture of a large storage vase in ancient Orokin style. She looked at what Cecelia was painting and nodded.

"That is nice." Jac said softly as she looked at the picture. "What is it?"

"I looked up the word." Cecelia said without looking at her or pausing in her painting. "Mariposa was a flower and a word in a language called 'Spanish' for a small insect with wide wings called a butterfly." Then she threw the brush across the room, picked up the paper in two appendages and ripped it in half! "_No! It wasn't fair!_" She screamed as she collapsed to the floor.

"Oh, Cecelia..." Jac was at her side in an instant. "Let it out, honey. Let it out..." She rubbed the MOA's warm hull in a soothing fashion as Cecelia started to sob. "We are here for you, Cecelia. Now and always."

"She told me she would die. When Mariposa let her talk to me... " Cecelia said, crying hard. "She just wanted a normal life, a family, a chance at children... Why couldn't she get that?" She asked Jac.

"She got a family." Jac said softly. "We, you and the clan, were her family and she died to protect us all. And as for a normal life? Cecelia, what is 'normal'?" Jac asked, hugging the machine gently.

"What?" The MOA asked, confused.

"Cecelia..." Jac said quietly. "Every sentient judges themselves by the ones around them. Good, bad or indifferent, they judge themselves by the ones around them. Mari was always too hard on herself. She was not Tenno. She was not born into this, or trained into this. She didn't have Cora's muscle, Miguel's experience, or Karen's stubborn cheerfulness. She thought she was lessening us. Bringing us down. She wasn't." She pleaded with the MOA. "She made us remember what we fight for, Cecelia. What we swore to serve, and why."

"I don't understand." Cecelia said after a moment. "She kept saying she wanted a normal life."

"Mari didn't know what she wanted, Cecelia." Jac said in a sad voice. "She didn't fit in here despite everything we all tried to do. We wanted to give her a chance to find a better way." She shook her head. "The thing was, she was never going to be what she wanted. She was never going to be 'normal'. Normal was a concept created by people selling things, by psychologists to justify their own existence. It doesn't exist anywhere except in people's minds, Cecelia. And Normal for one is different from normal for another. Mari wasn't normal."

"I know." Cecelia said sadly. "I knew from the moment I saw her that she was special. Physically, she was a normal human. But in every other way...?" She started crying again. "She was my mom..." The MOA wailed.

"I know." Jac said, holding Cecelia's shaking form. "I can't wave my hands and make the pain go away and none of us will allow you to sunder your memories." Cecelia jerked and Jac shook her head. "Your queries on human memory patterns were noted, Cecelia. Karl will talk to you later."

"I just want to forget." Cecelia said softly. "It hurts so much and I want to forget!"

"Cecelia." Jac said sternly. "You knew her better than any of us. If you don't remember her right, who _will_?" Jac glared at the MOA who seemed to wilt a bit. "She deserves better than to be forgotten, Cecilia."

"I..." Cecelia gulped a bit. "Why can't I just turn my emotions off?"

"Because you are not a machine." Jac said patiently. "No matter your outside appearance, you are not a machine, Cecelia. Drugs won't work and there is no switch to flip."

"I wish there was." Cecelia said, her tone abject. Then she seemed to perk up a bit. "I... I don't hurt as much now. Is that...right?" She asked softly.

"Talking with others can hurt, but it often helps as well." Jac said softly, still rubbing Cecelia's housing as the MOA sat up a bit. "We are all here for you, Cecelia. Anything we can do to help, just ask. But we are _not_ going to let you suicide and we are _not_ going to let you wipe your memories."

"Pushy Tenno." Cecelia said with a sad chuckle.

"Only with those we love, girl." Jac said with a grin. "Oh, word of warning... Karl was looking at music when he told me he was going to 'talk' to you." Cecelia seemed to wince and Jac nodded. ""Something called 'Barret's Privateers' I think..."

"I don't want to know." Cecelia said with a sigh. "He is so good at so many things, it stands to reason he would be bad at something. But... To be _that_ bad..." Her hull shook, a MOA shiver. Jac laughed and rose to her feet.

"Want to try some more painting?" Jac asked, holding out a hand to Cecelia who rose and took her hand in an appendage.

"Yeah." Cecelia said with a sigh. "It was...relaxing. Until I..." She paused. Wait a sec..." She was staring at the table, where a piece of paper lay. "I tore that. I know I did." The paper was Cecelia's picture of the flower and the insect.

"Yes, you did." Jac said, staring as well. "And you threw the pieces away. So..." She shook her head, looking around. "No one else is here." She paused, Cecelia seemed to have frozen. "Cecelia?"

"Did you just pat my housing?" Cecelia asked, her tone scared. "Someone just patted my housing!"

"Cecelia, be calm." Jac said, laying a hand on the MOA's hull, which was twitching. "It's okay. Whatever it is, we will handle it."

"It was...comforting." Cecelia said, relaxing. "It felt...kind. I don't understand." She said, looking at Jac who shrugged helplessly. "Is this dojo haunted?"

"Not that I know of. But..." She froze as she looked closer at the paper. "Cecelia..." She breathed. "Look at the bottom..." At the bottom of the paper, a small symbol shone. A Lotus. As they stared, a line of text appeared on the paper beside the symbol.

'To the daughter of the human woman who was the host of my sister. May your life be less interesting than it has been. Oh, and Cecelia...? Don't try to be normal. Normal is for fools and cowards. You are neither.'

Jac and Cecelia stared at the paper, but no further text appeared. Finally, Cecelia laughed a bit hysterically.

"Well, we are not haunted." Cecelia said with a sigh.

"Good." Jac agreed wholeheartedly. "Now, _you_ need some downtime and _I_ need some food. How about we go handle that?"

"I would like to do some more painting." Cecelia said equably as Jac started for the door. They walked out chatting softly and neither of them noticed a hazy golden form that appeared in a corner of the room. Mari's transparent face was sad, but proud as she stared after her mechanical daughter.

_Thank you, Lotus._ Mari said silently as she faded out. _I appreciate it. _

_Not a problem, Mari. _The Lotus replied. _She is just as far from normal as you are._

_Don't remind me... _Mari's mental voice was tart, but held gratitude and contentment as she went back to where she belonged.


End file.
